Ocean's daughter
by Ultimate Queen of Cliffies
Summary: One day, a mysterious girl with green skin is found on the beach near Fiyero Tiggular's home; she's allergic to water and she can't remember anything about her past. Years later, Elphaba decides to try and find some answers… but what she finds surpasses her wildest imaginations. Fiyeraba. Really, really AU.
1. Chapter 1 Angel On The Beach

**AN: I know I promised you a Yero my hero sequel. And trust me, I'm working on it, but to be honest, I'm already completely stuck on the first chapter. I think I'm going to rewrite that completely, so it might take another while - I really can't tell you how long.**

**This one, however, has been in my head for quite some time now, and I just had to get it out there. It's inspired by (and named after) the Train song 'Mermaid' - I get inspired by songs quite often.**

**Oh, yes, and I know there are no seas in Oz. Just bear with me, please? Imagine there to be one at the Eastern border of the Vinkus - say, just north of the Great Kells or something.**

**I hope you like this, and it would mean the world to me if you'd let me know in a review! :)**

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**Chapter 1. Angel on the beach**

'Mom!' Fiyero Tiggular was tugging at his mother's dress. His parents had taken him outside with them, to meet the Duke of Gillikin outside; the man was going to stay at Adurin Iir, Fiyero's home, for a few weeks, to discuss business with Fiyero's father, King Hamold of the Vinkus. His parents had insisted he come with them to greet the Duke, but Fiyero was bored out of his mind. He didn't understand half his parents and the Duke were saying and he wanted to play.

'Mom!'

'Not now, Fiyero.' Queen Eleonore, or Lori, as everyone called her, touched his head for a moment before turning back to the Duke. 'I'm sorry about my son, he's a little bored,' she smiled, and the Duke roared a laugh. 'That's quite alright, Your Majesty.'

Lori was still wearing her smile, but Fiyero knew she didn't really like the Duke. He could see it, too; his mother had two smiles, her sincere one and her polite one. Her current smile, Fiyero knew, fell in the latter category; it was plastered to her face, but he could see the immensely bored look in her eyes.

'How was your trip, Your Grace?' Lori asked the Duke, and the man rubbed his hands. 'Long,' he replied, after which he started an elaborate story about everything that had happened on his way to the Vinkus – which hadn't been all that much, for as far as Fiyero could hear, but the Duke managed to make every bump in the road sound like a dramatic horror story.

The boy turned around now. 'Dad?'

'Ssh, Yero.' Hamold looked down at his son. 'Why don't you go and play with Cohvu for a little bit?' he suggested, but Fiyero shook his head. 'He's out with his parents,' he said unhappily, and his father smiled. 'Well, then go and stroll around the beach for a while. But don't go too far – I want to be able to see you!'

Fiyero nodded enthusiastically. 'Okay, Dad!' With that, he dashed off, leaving the others behind to continue their conversation.

Adurin Iir, the castle in which Fiyero and his family lived, was situated in the Eastern Vinkus. To Fiyero, it was the most beautiful place to live that he could have ever imagined; not necessarily the castle itself, but its surroundings in particular.

To the south, there were the Thousand Year Grasslands; green and golden grass for as far as Fiyero could see. North from the castle was a forest, dense and wide. To the west, there was a travellers road, leading towards most big cities the Vinkus had to offer. There was another road that went through the forest for a bit and that lead to the rest of Oz, Munchkinland and the Emerald City, among other areas.

But the real reason why Fiyero loved his home so much could be found in the east. Adurin Iir itself was built on solid rock ground; but if you set foot outside the front porch and walked fifty meters or so, you would find yourself on a beach. And not just a beach; a huge, perfect, golden patch of sand, followed by the thing that awed Fiyero the most: the Mythical Sea.

Out of everything Fiyero had ever seen, the sea was the biggest, the most impressive, the most awe-inspiring. It was bigger than the forest. Wider than the grasslands. Much, much deeper than any lake Fiyero had ever seen in his life. It was called the Mythical Sea because no one was really sure what lived deep down there; and it was the inspiration for all kinds of stories and legends.

Fiyero used to venture out on a small boat with his father; they would catch fish, and sometimes Fiyero would dive for oysters and shells as well. Jellyfish sometimes washed onto the beach – Fiyero always threw them back, hoping that they were not dead yet and would swim to safety again – and every spring, he would search for the sea turtles' eggs in the sand. He always kept a close eye on them, and if he got lucky, he sometimes saw the baby turtles hatch.

His parents had taught him to swim almost before he could walk, and he knew the beach like the back of his hand. It was his favourite place to spend time, to play with other children, with his parents, or just by himself; and he loved to swim. He ventured out to the sea at every opportunity he got.

Now, he just ran along the shoreline, having kicked off his shoes to feel the sand between his toes. He dropped down into the sand, watching the sea in front of him. The water came rushing towards him, and he curled his toes; then it retreated again. He grinned and reached out with his leg, poking the water with his big toe. He gasped; it was still early spring, and the water was icy cold. Quickly, he retreated his leg again and rose to his feet once more.

He kicked against a small rock, sending it flying. He was lucky to live here, he knew that. He was also lucky that his parents were so rich that he had everything he desired; but sometimes, he wished he hadn't been born as a prince.

As Crown Prince of the Vinkus, Fiyero was supposed to take the throne when his father was too old to rule. He knew that time was most likely still far way, but he still didn't like to think about it. He didn't want to be a king. He wanted to see the world; he wanted to travel, to go to Munchkinland and Gillikin and the Great Kells. He wanted to settle down in the Emerald City and fight in the army, maybe get into the Wizard's Gale Force – perhaps he could even become Captain of the Guard! He wanted to live, really live, without the fact that his life was already completely laid out for him constantly looming over him.

He sighed, kicking at another rock. He wished one of his friends was here, but his best friend Cohvu was, as he had told his father, out with his parents, and Galinda lived all the way in Gillikin. They visited back and forth sometimes – her parents often had political meetings or something like that, Fiyero wasn't sure, with his own parents – but he still saw her way not often enough for his own liking. Galinda, along with Cohvu, was pretty much the only friend he had.

Just as he was thinking about asking his parents if he could invite Galinda over for spring break, something caught his eye and he froze. He held his breath excitedly as he leaned forward. He caught a flash of green. Was that a sea turtle? It was early in the year still, but not _too_ early… it might be one. Perhaps it was laying its eggs here!

Quietly, he inched closer, careful as not to disturb the turtle, but then he frowned. 'That's not a turtle,' he muttered to himself, moving closer still. 'That's a…'

He reached out his hand to brush the black seaweed that was covering the green thing away… but then he realised that the black he saw wasn't seaweed at all.

His eyes widened.

'MOM!'

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'What do you mean, you found a girl on the beach?' Lori demanded of her son. 'Fiyero, if this is one of your games again…'

'It's not a game, I swear!' He tugged at his mother's dress urgently. 'There really is a girl out there! I found her on the beach! I think she came from the sea!'

'She came from the sea,' his mother echoed flatly. She looked over her son's head at Hamold. 'I think he made this entire story up.'

Hamold tried to placate her. 'Now, Lori…'

She shook her head. 'Hamold, it makes no sense what he's saying. A girl that came from the sea? What, did she have a fishtail as well?'

'No, she didn't,' said Fiyero stubbornly. 'But she's green.'

His mother threw her hands up in the air. 'Of course. She's green.'

Hamold kneeled down in front of his son, placing one hand on his shoulder. 'Yero,' he said seriously. 'Don't you think you're a little too old to be making up stories like this?'

'It's not a story, Dad, I swear!' Fiyero pulled at his father's hand. 'Come with me, I'll show you!'

Hamold sighed, but rose to his feet nonetheless. 'Alright, alright. I'll come with you. But if this is a joke…' he warned, and Fiyero shook his head. 'It's not! Come _on_, Dad!'

Hamold excused himself and left, while Lori continued her conversation with the Duke. The King took his son by the hand and let Fiyero drag him along the beach. 'Yero…'

'We're almost there!' Fiyero let go of his father's hand, speeding up and jumping over a log of driftwood as he moved on. Hamold sighed. Fiyero was seven years old now, and he had always had a rich imagination. He had never been too sociable - partly because other children his age usually felt slightly intimidated by the fact that he was a prince – and he used to make up stories of his own instead. Hamold and Lori thought that was only normal, but if this turned out to be one of Fiyero's games again, they would have to have a stern talk with their son.

'There! Look, over there!' Fiyero was jumping up and down, pointing at something, and Hamold came closer. He frowned when he saw what his son was pointing at. That almost _did _seem like a girl…

He kneeled down next to the black-and-green… phenomenon. Beside him, Fiyero was rambling. 'See? Didn't I tell you so? I told you so! At first I thought it was a sea turtle, but then I realised it didn't look anything like that, and then I wanted to brush away the seaweed to get a better look, and then I saw that it wasn't seaweed at all – it was hair!'

Fiyero was right, the King noticed. He studied the girl. She couldn't be much older than Fiyero was, if not younger; she was small and slender, with waist long raven black hair and, indeed, green skin. It was clear from the position she was in that she must have been washed ashore by the waves, but that must have been some time ago already; the tide was low now and still meters away from where the girl was lying, and her hair and clothes were already dry, though there was some actual seaweed sticking to her dress and stuck in her hair.

Hamold tried to shake her awake, but she didn't stir, though she was breathing. He rolled her over. Her eyes were closed, black, feathery lashes resting on her cheeks, and her lips were a bluish gray colour. She must be freezing, Hamold realised with a start; it was still cool outside, the northern wind was icy cold, and the sea water itself was even worse. He wondered where she had come from. Had there been an accident? It wouldn't be the first time a boat sunk around here – the Mythical Sea was exactly that, mythical, and many theories were circulating about ships that had disappeared while crossing it. Never before, though, had Hamold heard of anyone surviving any of those shipwrecks – let alone washing up on the shore of the Vinkus.

He lifted the girl into his arms, noting how little she weighed. How long had she been out here? 'Fiyero,' he said urgently. 'I want you to run back to your mother and tell her to call for the doctor immediately. Tell her I'm on my way. Do you understand?'

He nodded vigorously, but he hesitated just a clock-tick. 'Dad?'

'Yes?'

He looked at the small green girl in his father's arms in concern. 'Is she going to be okay?'

Hamold shook his head. 'I don't know, son,' he replied truthfully. 'I don't know. But the doctor will know, once he examines her.'

Fiyero nodded again, sending his sandy hair flying into his face. 'I'll go tell Mom!' he said, before dashing off in the direction he had come from, Hamold following with the green girl.

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Fiyero followed his parents into the castle, running to keep up with them. As soon as his mother had heard what had happened, and saw her husband approach with the girl, she had excused herself to the Duke and ran off to call the doctor. Hamold had hurried inside as well, and Fiyero ran after him up the stairs towards one of the empty guest rooms.

He watched as the doctor came and examined the green girl. Lori looked worried and Hamold was frowning, lost in thought; Fiyero himself was just fascinated with the strange creature.

'Dad?' he whispered, and Hamold looked down, disturbed from his thoughts. 'Mm?'

'Do you think she's a mermaid?'

Hamold laughed and ruffled his son's hair. 'Of course not, Yero,' he said gently. 'Mermaids don't exist, I told you that.'

Fiyero nodded. 'And they have tails, of course,' he said seriously. 'Fish tails. This girl doesn't.' He hesitated. 'Could she be a siren, then?'

Hamold just sighed. 'Fiyero, you should really stop reading those myths and legends about the sea. They are exactly that – myths and legends. Stories. Not real.'

Fiyero frowned, puzzled. 'But why is she green?'

'I don't know, son.' Hamold was looking at the girl as well as the doctor finished his examination. The two men went into the corner of the room for a little bit, talking quietly, and Fiyero inched a bit closer towards the bed to get a better look at the girl. She was pretty, he noticed, and he wondered where she had come from. His Dad had told him what he thought had happened – a shipwreck. Fiyero's eyes were gleaming. That was _so _awesome. He would ask her about it later, he promised himself, after she'd gotten a little bit better. He wanted to hear everything that had happened to her.

Just as he was thinking that, her eyelids slowly started to flutter open, and he yelled, 'Look!', jumping up and down and pointing at the girl. 'She's waking up!'

Hamold and the doctor were immediately back by the bedside, and Lori came closer as well. Fiyero hovered over the girl, watching as her eyes blinked open. They were a dark brown colour, he noticed. The colour of chocolate. He liked chocolate.

'Hi,' he said. 'Don't be scared, you're safe now. I found you. My Daddy took you home with us – he's really strong. Are you okay?'

She just stared at him for a moment, cowering slightly, recoiling into the pillows. Fiyero smiled at her. 'Don't be afraid,' he said, reaching out to her. She pulled away again, and he quickly pulled back his arm. 'I'm Fiyero.'

She merely looked at him, tilting her head slightly to the side, clearly confused. Her long black hair fell in soft waves down her shoulder and arm, and then shereached out for _him_. He allowed her to touch his arm, hesitantly; then she softly his cheek and his hair, studying him closely. Fiyero, quickly figuring out that she probably didn't speak the common Ozian language, judging by the puzzled look on her face, pointed his thumb at his own chest. 'Fiyero. Fi-ye-ro. That's my name - Fiyero.' He smiled at her. 'What's your name?'

She blinked at him, opening her mouth, then closing it again. Fiyero tried in all the different languages he knew – which, in fact, were only common Ozian and Vinkun. 'Cé tú féin?'

She still didn't seem to understand, and Hamold muttered, 'I wonder where this girl is from.'

Lori knelt down next to the bed, levelling her head with the girl's. 'Spreek je Munchkin?' she asked softly. When the girl's expression didn't change, Lori asked, 'Gillikin?'

The girl shook her head, and Hamold placed his hand on his wife's arm. 'Let's leave her alone for now, Lori,' he said quietly. 'We don't know what she's been through, and she looks tired.'

The doctor said, 'I'm going to need to examine her some more. We don't know where she's from or what has happened to her – she might be hurt or sick.'

Hamold nodded and ushered his son out of the door. 'Why don't you go and play for a while, kid,' he suggested, smiling a bit apologetically at his son. 'The doctor needs to do some more tests and we have to discuss a few things. Don't worry, we'll take care of her.'

Fiyero scowled, not happy with this development. 'Can I see her again later?' he demanded, and his father smiled again. 'Sure, Fiyero. She needs to sleep firs, but I'll come and fetch you when she's awake again, okay?'

Satisfied, Fiyero turned around and left.


	2. Chapter 2 Legally Blonde

**AN: Thank you all so much for your reviews! You guys really made my day :).**

**I'm glad you're all liking little Yero and little Fae so far ^_^. This chapter will have little Galinda in it, and the next chapter will include little Cohvu. **

**For those of you wondering: ... No. No, Frex did not knock Elphaba out and leave her on the beach to die. No, he did not throw her into the sea. Oz, guys :P (yes, Elphaba'sGirl and Siarenthander, I'm looking at you).**

**However, Elphaba'sGirl: yes, the story will be that AU. As in, AU enough so that it might be possible that Elphaba is a siren or an angel (she's not, but just to give an example of the AU-ishness of this story :P) Anything is possible *mysterious background music*.**

**MidnightReadingAddict: You'll find out later on in the story ^_^.**

**Vinkunwildflowerqueen: You can't even begin to imagine my reaction when I saw that you were not only following my story, but that you've reviewed it, too. Seriously, I completely spazzed. I may have mentioned it before, but you're pretty much my idol - to me, getting a review from you is almost like... like getting a review from Idina Menzel herself. (Okay, that's a bit exaggerated... but just a tiny bit.) Thank you so very much!**

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**Chapter 2. Legally Blonde**

'That's how we found her, now two weeks ago,' Fiyero concluded his story. 'Isn't that awesome?'

Galinda stared at him with a penetrating blue gaze that told him that to her, he was the biggest idiot that had ever existed in all of Oz. She often looked at him that way. He wondered why that was.

'Awesome,' she finally echoed, and Fiyero nodded enthusiastically. 'Yeah!'

'The girl has probably been in a shipwreck,' the petite blonde girl stated. 'She was washed up on a beach. There appear to be no other survivors. Her entire family is probably dead and she's been through a horrendible accident… and you think that's _awesome_?'

He faltered. 'Well,' he said hesitantly. 'If you look at it that way… it suddenly seems a lot less awesome,' he admitted reluctantly.

Galinda heaved a sigh and placed her hands on her hips. 'Fiyero Tiggular, you are so _brainless_ sometimes,' she declared in her high-pitched voice, and he looked up, offended. 'What? Why?'

The small blonde girl shook her head. 'Never mind, Fifi,' she said. 'Where is this girl? I'd like to see her.'

He made a face. 'We can't,' he said. 'The doctor's with her to examine her again, and there are other people with her as well. I'm not sure why, but my Dad said that they're worried because they still don't know where she's from, she doesn't seem to understand any language, and she still hasn't spoken a single word.'

Galinda screwed up her nose. 'Not _one _word?' she asked incredulously, and Fiyero nodded. The blonde shook her head in amazement. 'How is that even possible?' she asked. 'I mean, I'm pretty sure I couldn't not talk for one hour, let alone two weeks!'

'Yes, well,' said Fiyero snappily, suddenly annoyed with his blonde friend, 'that's because _you_ always talk so much. You couldn't keep your mouth shut to save your life.'

He wasn't sure why he suddenly got mad with Galinda. He just didn't want her to say anything even remotely offensive about the green girl. He had come to like her – the green girl – even though she didn't speak, and to be really honest, he felt bad about thinking that what had happened to her was awesome. She must be really scared and sad. He tried to imagine how he would feel if his parents died in a shipwreck, and he would find himself on a strange beach in a strange country, with strange people all around him that he couldn't understand. He shuddered at the mere thought.

Galinda looked offended. 'You don't have to get all snarly with me,' she said indignantly, raising her chin and poking her nose up in the air. 'You're stupid. I'm going to find Momsie and Popsicle.'

'You do that,' he replied, gritting his teeth in annoyance with his blonde friend. When she had left, he waited for a while before exiting the room as well, heading in a different direction.

When he came to the hallway he was looking for, he could see his father standing outside, talking with the doctor and two other people – a man and a woman. Hamold smiled when he saw his son. 'Hey, Yero. Coming to check up on your little green friend again?' he asked him cheerfully.

Fiyero nodded and made big eyes at his father. 'Can I see her?' he begged. 'Please?'

Hamold laughed. 'Sure, son. They're just done with her. Your mother is still in there – be quiet, though. She's asleep.'

Fiyero wrinkled his nose. 'Mom?'

His father laughed again. 'The girl, Fiyero.'

'Oh.' Fiyero slowly pushed open the door and slipped inside. The green girl was still in her bed, curled up in a ball, sound asleep; Lori was sitting in a chair next to the bed, looking lost in thought. When her son entered the room, she looked up and smiled at him. 'Hi, sweetie. I thought you would still be playing with Galinda.'

Fiyero made a face. 'Galinda is stupid.' Then he looked at the green girl in the bed, before directing his azure-coloured gaze at his mother. 'Is she going to be okay?' he asked worriedly, and his mother sighed. 'We're not sure, Yero,' she said softly. 'The doctor thinks that she'll be fine, physically at least. She doesn't seem to be hurt in any way, just very exhausted and a little confused.'

Her son looked back at the girl in the bed. 'That's good, right?'

Lori nodded. 'It is. But until she starts to speak, or at the very least trusts us enough to let us come closer to her, we can't do any more tests. She won't let us touch her – we had to hold her down to the bed to get the necessary tests done – and she is obviously very scared.'

'I would be, too,' said Fiyero gravely. 'If something like this had happened to me.'

Lori smiled at him and gracefully rose to her feet, running her fingers through her son's hair as she watched the sleeping girl in the bed. She planted a kiss on the top of Fiyero's head. 'Why don't you keep her company for a while?' she suggested. 'Who knows, perhaps you could get her to talk. She might be more comfortable around someone her own age.'

Fiyero's face brightened. 'I'll try my best!' he promised, and Lori gave him another smile before leaving the room. 'I'll be in the library if you need me.'

The young boy studied the green girl in the bed. She was a little pale, but her breathing was even and she seemed calm, though not entirely peaceful. She was still a bit tense, he noted. But then again, he couldn't blame her, after everything that had happened.

Her long ebony hair fanned out of the pillow, and he resisted the urge to touch it - it just looked so soft. There was a light bandage around her lower arm, and he remembered the peculiar thing that had caused it.

It had happened on the day after they had found her, when they had tried to wash her up a little. The moment one of the maids had come out with a bucket of water and a sponge, she had scrambled backwards on the bed, eyes wide with fear; and when they had tried to wash her, gently touching the green skin of her arm with the wetted sponge, she had yelped in pain. When the sponge had been pulled away quickly, they had discovered, much to their horror, that the skin of the girl's arm had turned red, with small, but angry blisters covering the place where the sponge had touched her. Some more examinations by the doctor had confirmed what they had already started to suspect after that day: the mysterious green girl was allergic to water.

They'd been cleaning her with oils ever since, but Fiyero still found it fascinating that someone could be allergic to something as basal as water. He wondered what would happen if she fell into a lake, or into the sea. He shuddered at the mere thought – if a sponge full of water did _this _to her arm, an entire sea of it would probably kill her. Slightly disappointed, he realised that she would never be able to go swimming with him – and that while he so loved to go swimming in the sea.

Oh, well, he decided, she could just stay on the beach and watch as he swam. They could still play on the beach together, as long as they stayed away from the water. He was already looking forward to showing her the sea turtle's eggs, hidden away in the sand.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. How could she have been in a shipwreck if she was allergic to water? Wouldn't she have died the moment she fell into the sea?

He frowned a little, screwing up his nose in thought. She hadn't been wet when they had found her, he remembered. His father had thought that was because she had been there for quite a while already, and she had just been dried by the wind and the sun; but perhaps she had never been wet at all…

But that would mean she'd dropped from the sky, and that seemed equally unlikely.

He cocked his head a little to the side. Perhaps, he decided, perhaps her accident, the shipwreck, was what had cause her water allergy in the first place.

He grew excited at that idea. Yes, that was probably it. She had probably been in the water for such a long time that her skin couldn't take it anymore – she'd just gotten an overdose of water, and now ever drop was too much for her. He congratulated himself proudly on that conclusion. And then Galinda told him that he was brainless!

The green girl moved a little, and then her eyes slowly opened. When they focused on him, they widened slightly in fear for a moment, and he smiled at her in an attempt to reassure her. 'Hi. Sleep well?'

She didn't understand him, of course, but his voice seemed to calm her nonetheless. Slowly, she sat up, her dark brown eyes never leaving his as she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

'I was just telling Galinda about you,' the prince told her, mirroring her position and resting his chin on top of his knees. 'But she doesn't understand any of it. I guess that's because she's blonde – I heard Dad say that once, that blonde people are dumb.' He felt at his own hair. 'Am I blonde?' he asked, suddenly insecure. 'I mean, my Mom always says my hair colour is 'sandy', but I'm not sure if that's blonde or brown or something in between.'

The girl just looked at him with large, doe-like eyes and an unreadable expression on her face.

'I'm gonna go with something in between,' Fiyero decided. 'I guess officially it would be blonde, but I don't want to be blonde, because then I would be dumb, so my hair is just blonde-brown-ish.' Satisfied with his reasoning, he returned his attention to the green girl. 'I wish I knew your name.'

She blinked at him and he inched closer, balancing on the edge of his chair. He put both his hands on his chest. 'I am Fiyero,' he said, slowly and clearly. He pointed at himself. 'Fiyero.' Then he pointed at her, giving her a questioning look.

She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. Fiyero's face fell – he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. 'You can tell me,' he said a bit indignantly. 'I won't bite or anything. I just want to know your name.'

She tilted her head a little to the side and pursed her lips, clearly thinking something over. He noticed once again that her hair fell like a silken waterfall over her shoulder when she did that. She was pretty. Not pretty like Galinda, but pretty nonetheless.

'I'm really sorry about what happened to you,' he said sincerely. 'Even though I'm not really sure what that is, you know, what happened to you, I'm still sorry about it – I think it must have been awful.'

Though she still couldn't understand him, there was something in her eyes that made him believe she got the general lines of what he was trying to say. Understanding, maybe. She might not understand his words, but she understood the tone of his voice and his facial expression. Her face softened a little. Then she looked away and said, so softly that it was barely audible, 'Elphaba.'

He held his breath, excited. 'What?'

She turned to him again, briefly looking into his eyes before lowering her gaze. She leaned over the bed and softly tapped his chest. 'Fiyero,' she said. Then she patted her own chest, declaring, 'Elphaba.' He noticed that the words came out strangely, as if she hadn't talked for a long time or was used to talking in a different language; she was speaking with a strange accent that he couldn't place. It sounded nice, though. Melodious.

'Elphaba. Is that your name?' He grinned at her. 'It's a pretty name,' he told her, and she blushed a little, convincing him of the fact that she had, again, caught the meaning of his words. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously and inched back a little, away from him.

'Say something else!' Fiyero encouraged her, but she huddled in her blanket, just watching him vigilantly. He wanted to say something else, but just then, the door was thrown open and a tiny little blonde in a pink cupcake dress burst in.

'Oh my Oz, she really is green!' Galinda screeched, nearly giving the green girl, who had been sitting on the bed with her back towards the door, a heart attack.

Fiyero jumped to his feet. 'Galinda!' he said reproachfully, but the blonde just stuck out her tongue. 'Shut up, Fifi.' She bounced over towards the bed and extended her hand for the green girl to shake. 'Hi! I'm Galinda Upland,' she informed the other girl. 'Of the _Upper _Uplands,' she added significantly. 'And my Daddy is really important.'

'What does _that _have to do with anything?' demanded Fiyero, and Galinda looked at him haughtily. 'I just want to let her know where she stands.'

'You're so self-con…' What was the word again? His Dad had tried to teach it to him a few days before…

His face brightened when he remembered. 'Self-conceited!'

'Do you even know what that _means_?' Galinda asked nastily, and Fiyero scowled at her. 'Yes, I do. Just because _you're _a dumb blonde, doesn't mean we _all _are!'

Now Galinda's face slowly turned red. 'I am not a dumb blonde!' she squawked at him. 'And you're one to talk, you're blonde, too!'

'Am not! My hair is sandy!'

'It's the same thing!'

'No, it's not!'

Suddenly, they both became aware of the green girl, who had pulled her blanket up to her chin and was looking from Fiyero to Galinda and back with wide eyes. Fiyero stared daggers at his blonde friend. 'See what you did? Now you scared her!'

'Me?!' Galinda protested, but then she shook her head and declared, 'You know what? I'm a lady, so I'm going to stop fighting now. Fighting is not ladylike.' Again, she stepped closer to Elphaba. 'Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands, pleasure to meet you.'

Elphaba blinked at her.

Fiyero quickly moved to the other side of the bed, drawing the green girl's attention. He pointed at her. 'Elphaba.'

She nodded.

He pointed at himself. 'Fiyero.' Then she pointed at the bouncy blonde. 'Galinda.'

'Ga-lin-da,' the green girl repeated after him slowly, and Fiyero nodded. 'Yes. That's Galinda.'

Elphaba reached out for the other girl, touching her blonde curls. 'Galinda.'

The blonde nodded enthusiastically. 'Did you say her name was Elphaba?' she asked Fiyero, and the prince nodded. 'It is.'

'That's too long,' Galinda declared. 'I'm going to shorten it to…' She thought about it for a moment, then her face brightened. 'Elphie!'

Elphaba cocked her head, confused. 'Elphie?' she echoed, and Galinda squealed. 'Oh my Oz, Elphie, do you want to be best friends?' she asked the green girl excitedly. 'We could be best friends! I could teach you all about fashion, and we could watch cute boys together, and go shopping and have manicures and pedicures – I'm not sure what those are, exactly, but Momsie says it's something that ladies do together - and I could give you makeovers-'

'I'm not sure, but it sounds like little Miss Galinda has wiggled her way into the room,' a new voice said. When the children looked up, they found Hamold in the doorway, smiling at them all.

'Hi, Uncle Hammy!' Galinda cried enthusiastically. He wasn't her real uncle, but she called almost every adult she knew well 'uncle' or 'aunt' – including the friends of her parents, as well as the parents of her friends.

Hamold laughed, but just then, Elphaba opened her mouth and asked, slightly confused, 'Hammy?'

'No, no!' Fiyero hastily jumped in. 'Hamold.'

'Hamold,' Elphaba echoed, and Fiyero nodded, then patted his own chest. 'He's my father.'

She tilted her head to the side inquiringly.

'Daddy?' he tried. 'Papa?'

Now her face brightened. 'Papa!' She turned around to look at Hamold. 'Hamold,' she said again, then she looked at Fiyero. 'Hamold papa Fiyero?' she asked, pronouncing the words carefully in that strange, melodious way.

He nodded, grinning broadly, excited that she understood him. 'Yes! Exactly!'

The King, meanwhile, was gaping at the green girl wide-eyed. 'But…' he sputtered, still staring. 'But she… she's talking?'

Fiyero nodded proudly. 'Yes. Her name is Elphaba. I got her to talk – isn't that awesome?'

Before he knew it, he was being chased out of the room. 'You can come back later,' his father said hastily, before telling a maid to fetch Lori and the doctor. Then he closed the door behind them.

Galinda huffed. 'I wanted to talk to her some more!' she whined. 'She's my best friend now!' She paused. 'What are they going to do with her, anyway?' she then asked, and Fiyero shrugged. 'I think they're going to do more tests,' he said. 'You know, because she's finally talking, and stuff.'

'Oh. Okay.' Galinda perked up. 'Can we go and play with Cohvu, then?'

Fiyero looked puzzled. 'Why?'

'_Because_,' Galinda said as if this much must be evident, 'he's _cute_.'

Fiyero just wrinkled his nose.

He would never understand girls, he decided. Especially blonde ones.


	3. Chapter 3 Love Is

**AN: Wow. Your reviews seriously blew me away! 28 reviews on two chapters! O.O I think that's a new record for me - thank you all so much!**

**Vinkunwildflowerqueen: Still can't stop grinning every time I see that you reviewed :). But to answer your questions: no (and that goes for you, too, Musicgal), it's not weird that you're thinking of Tarzan now. I, um... I might have been listening to the soundtrack when I was writing the previous chapter :3.**

**And yes, I kept expecting Frex to do something horrendible in CWM, too. First I expected him to just, you know, not care, so that Fiyero would have to pay for all her medical bills; after that, I was still wary of him, but now I'm slowly starting to believe that he has a heart after all ;).**

**No, Elphaba'sGirl, she's not the daughter of Lurline and she's also not American xD. Keep guessing! (Just keep guessing, just keep guessing... I'm sorry, I've watched Finding Nemo too often.)**

**Anny-Rudolph: Thank you so much! :) And I promise you, that Yero my hero sequel will come... hopefully somewhere in the near future ;).**

**To my guest reviewer: I'm really sorry, but I've really hit rock bottom with that one :(. I'm not even sure I'm going to finish it, because I'm not a huge fan of it myself. Thanks for the review, though! :)**

**MidnightReadingAddict: I completely agree with you! ;) **

**Yeah, sorry about the way too long AN again. Just skip it if you want to - I'm always so thrillified about reviews that I start replying to them all, I just love them so much :).**

**Anyways, this is mostly a filler chapter, to take a closer look at the Fiyero-Galinda-Cohvu friendship :).**

* * *

**Chapter 3. Love is… **

'Auntie Lori, Auntie Lori!' Galinda was running through the castle, panting slightly when she ran into the library. Lori looked up from her paperwork. 'Hi, sweetie,' she said when she saw the blonde girl. 'What's going on?'

'Well…' Galinda hesitated. 'Fiyero and Cohvu were playing this game…'

Lori removed her reading glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes for a moment. 'Oh, dear,' she said drily. 'What happened _now_? Did they fall into the pond? Are they lost in the forest?'

Galinda shook her head. 'They're stuck on the wall surrounding the garden.'

Lori sighed. 'Of course they are.'

'Well,' Galinda corrected herself, 'Fiyero is. Cohvu chickened out halfway. Fiyero challenged him to climb up on the wall via the tree next to it, but Cohvu nearly fell out of the tree and he was too scared to go up again, and then Fiyero climbed up onto the wall and called Cohvu a coward, only now Fiyero's the real coward because he can't get down again and he told me to go and find you.'

Lori went with the petite blonde girl and indeed found her son on the rough stone wall that surrounded the gardens behind the castle. 'Fiyero Hamold Tiggular,' the Queen said sternly. 'What in Oz have you done now?'

Fiyero looked decidedly uncomfortable, not to mention slightly scared. 'I can't get down again,' he said in a squeaky voice, and Lori crossed her arms. 'Well, then I suppose you're going to have to spend the night there, don't you?'

Now he looked panicky. 'Mom!'

'Aunt Lori?' Cohvu tugged at Lori's dress. 'You're not _really _going to leave him up there, are you?' he asked her, his gray eyes worried.

Lori laughed. 'No, Cohvu, of course not. Don't worry.' She climbed into the tree, almost getting the skirt of her dress stuck on a branch a few times, and reached out for Fiyero. 'Come here, Yero.'

He hesitated and spluttered for a bit, but finally, he gathered all his courage and slowly inched towards his mother. She grabbed him and she set him down onto a thick branch, climbing down herself first before lifting him off the branch and putting him safely with both feet on the floor.

He hugged her quickly. 'Thanks, Mom.' Then he, Cohvu, and Galinda dashed off again to play.

Lori sighed, shook her head, and headed back inside.

* * *

'Galinda, Galinda! Ga-linda!' Fiyero grabbed a handful of blonde curls and yanked, making the girl screech as if she was being murdered. 'Fiyero!' she cried. 'That hurts!'

He stuck out his tongue. 'Sissy.'

She immediately turned beet red. 'You take that back, Fiyero Tiggular!' she shrieked, jumping to her feet. Fiyero stuck out his tongue again before quickly dashing off, running for his life.

When he had lost the blonde, he decided to go and find Cohvu instead. He had some good news that he had wanted to share with Galinda, but since she was being a priss, he was going to tell Cohvu instead.

Fiyero and Cohvu had been best friends even before either of them had met Galinda. They had met in kindergarten; Fiyero had cried and yelled and begged his parents to not send him there, but Lori and Hamold had thought it would be good for him to interact with other children his age, rather than being cooped up inside the castle all day. The first day, Hamold had literally had to push Fiyero into the building. The King had planted his son down into a chair and hurriedly left; and much to Fiyero's horror, just after that, a boy his age had walked up to him, declaring in a threatening voice that he was sitting in _his _chair.

Fiyero had protested that he was new, but Cohvu had wanted to hear none of it. They had been three years old at the time and that had been the first time Fiyero had ever gotten into a fight – or, well, a fight… they had tried to kick and smack one another, and pull at each other's hair, but it wasn't even a minute before the teacher pulled them apart, telling them both to stay inside during lunch break and make up. As all the other children had gone off to play outside, Fiyero and Cohvu had remained inside the classroom to 'talk it out'.

By the time his mother had come to pick him up at the end of the day, he and Cohvu were best friends and that hadn't changed ever since.

Since that day, Cohvu had visited the castle so many times that he had grown to feel at home there, calling Fiyero's parents his aunt and uncle and happily plotting games and adventures with his friend.

Fiyero knew that Cohvu's parents were rather poor; they had five children, two younger than Cohvu and two older than him, and so his mother had to stay at home and care for them, especially the younger ones. Cohvu's father worked as a guard at Adurin Iir, but most of the money he made with that job was spent on food, clothes, and other necessities. Fiyero's parents sometimes slipped him something extra, so that they could buy something nice for their children, or make a trip somewhere, but Fiyero still felt bad for his friend sometimes.

He himself was an only child, which he hated. He was often bored, always playing alone – which was why he didn't mind at all that Cohvu spent so much time at the castle. To the prince, Cohvu felt like a brother.

'Hey, Cohvu,' Fiyero said happily when he found his friend in the main sitting room. 'Guess what?'

'What?' asked Cohvu, and Fiyero grinned broadly at him. 'My parents want me to teach Elphaba how to speak.'

Cohvu gaped at him. 'What?'

Fiyero nodded gravely. 'Because I was the one that first got her to speak, and Mom thinks she trusts me the most, so she and Dad told me to give it a shot. Isn't that awesome?' he gushed.

Cohvu didn't seem too impressed. 'You think _everything_ is awesome,' he pointed out, and Fiyero faltered for a moment when he realised his friend was right. 'Yeah…' he said. 'But this really _is _awesome, don't you agree?'

'It is pretty awesome,' Cohvu admitted. He looked curious. 'When can I meet her?'

Fiyero sighed and plopped down onto the couch. 'Not yet,' he said disappointedly. 'Mom says she's still very shy and a bit scared of people, so she doesn't want to add any more strangers to the list of people having access to her room. She wants to limit it to her, Dad, the doctor, a teacher that will measure her… her…' He wrinkled his nose. 'What was the word again? Process?'

'Progress,' Cohvu offered helpfully, and Fiyero nodded. 'Yeah, that. So that teacher… and me. I think it's super cool.' He looked at his friend. 'But I'll show her to you as soon as she gets a little better,' he offered.

Cohvu thought about that for a moment, then nodded. 'Okay.'

'So… what now?' asked Fiyero. Just then, Galinda came storming into the room. 'What are you doing?' she demanded. 'Are you talking about something behind my back?'

Fiyero stuck his chin in the air. 'Yes, well, I would have told you, too, if you hadn't started chasing me like a wicked witch!' he sneered, and Galinda crossed her arms indignantly. 'You're mean.'

'You're stupid.'

'You pulled my hair!'

'And you immediately started crying,' Fiyero retorted. 'You're such a sissy.'

Again, she went red. 'Now you're saying it again!'

'Sissy!' Fiyero yelled, jumping to his feet and dancing around Galinda. 'Sissy sissy sissy sissy sissy!'

Suddenly, Galinda grabbed his arm, burying her _way _too long – not to mention pink - fingernails in his skin, making him yelp. She smirked at him. 'What?' she asked sweetly. 'Does that hurt?' Her blue eyes were cold as she looked at him. 'Who's the sissy now?'

Fiyero stomped on her foot. Galinda cried out and went to grab a fistful of his hair, but he was quicker, smacking her arm. 'That hurt!' she cried, before starting to slap him with the little pink purse she was carrying with her. 'You' _smack_ 'stupid' _slam_ 'brainless' _whack _'prince!'

'Galinda!' someone cried, horrified, and the three children looked around to find Lady Upland, Galinda's mother, standing in the doorway. Galinda immediately lowered her purse, staring down at her feet guiltily, as her mother reprimanded her. 'Galinda, a lady _never _hits a gentleman,' she told her.

Galinda's head snapped back up and one finger jabbed in Fiyero's direction. 'But Momsie, he's not a gentleman!' she protested. 'He pulled my hair!'

Now it was Fiyero's turn to look guilty, and Lori appeared in the doorway behind Galinda's mother. Having heard most of their conversation, she laid one hand on Lady Upland's shoulder. 'Don't worry about it, Neri,' she told her. 'Fiyero deserves a good whack on the head every now and then.'

'Mom!' Fiyero protested, but his mother just flashed him a grin before taking Neri back with her. Galinda looked at him, smirking. 'See?'

Fiyero glared at her. 'You're still stupid.'

Cohvu sighed. 'Can we do something else now?' he whined. 'It's boring to watch you fight. Well, it was interesting when Galinda started hitting Yero with her purse…'

Galinda immediately perked up. 'You think I'm interesting?' She batted her eyelashes at him.

'Okay,' Fiyero quickly chimed in before Cohvu could answer that. 'Let's go get some cookies!' he suggested brightly. 'The cook said she'd bake some today!'

Cohvu looked at him excitedly. 'Do you think she'll give us some if we asked her?'

Fiyero shook his head. 'No, of course not.' He grinned at Cohvu. 'We're going to play a game.'

Cohvu immediately jumped to his feet. 'I'm in!' he declared. 'What's the game?'

'You and I are soldiers in the Vinkun army,' Fiyero said in a low voice, almost whispering. 'The kitchen is enemy territory, and the kitchen staff are soldiers of the evil army. We're supposed to get the treasure – that's the cookies – back from the evil army.'

'So, basically,' Galinda commented drily from where she had perched in a chair with her embroidery in her lap, 'you're just making up a stupid story to give yourselves an excuse to sneak into the kitchen and steal the cookies.'

'You know,' Cohvu sighed, 'girls really are no fun.'

Fiyero shook his head. 'Not girls,' he corrected his friend. '_Blonde _girls.'

Galinda glared at him.

'Come on, let's go.' Fiyero pulled his friend out into the hallway and down a flight of stairs, in the direction of the kitchen.

Galinda put her embroidery aside, smiling. She wouldn't go with them; they'd probably just get caught and punished, anyway, and she didn't want to be a part of that. No, she had a better plan.

* * *

Elphaba looked up when the door slowly opened, only to find a small head with blonde curls peeking around it. Galinda smiled broadly when she saw the green girl. 'Hi!' she said enthusiastically. 'I'm back, Elphie!' She closed the door behind her and jumped into a chair next to Elphaba's bed. 'How are you today?' she asked politely.

Elphaba was eyeing her with interest, but didn't reply. Galinda leaned forward. 'Do you remember who I am?' She pointed at Elphaba. 'Elphie.' Then she pointed at herself, and Elphaba immediately replied, 'Galinda.'

The blonde girl beamed at her. 'Yes! Amazifying!' she cheered. 'How old are you?' To punctuate her question, she pointed at herself again, then held up six fingers. 'Six.'

'Six,' echoed Elphaba, and the petite blonde nodded. 'I'm six.' She indicated first herself, then her raised fingers. 'Six.'

Elphaba counted the fingers silently for a moment, screwing up her nose as she clearly went over something in her head, but then her face brightened. 'Six!'

Galinda nodded. 'I am Galinda,' she said, slowly and clearly. 'I am six.' She gestured for Elphaba to try, and she did. 'I am Elphaba,' she said shyly. 'I am six.'

Galinda squealed. 'Oh my Oz, this is so swankified!' she gushed. 'Are you six, too?' She tried to express that question in gestures, and Elphaba nodded. She pointed at herself, then held up six fingers. 'Six.'

The blonde nodded again. 'Yes! You're learning quickly!' she said admiringly. 'Now for something more complicated.'

She spent the next ten minutes or so pointing at different objects in the room, or trying to portray certain things, and teaching Elphaba the correspondent words. The green girl indeed did learn quickly, and obviously liked their little game, for there was a small smile on her face now.

Suddenly, there were voices in the hallway, and Elphaba tilted her head to the side, listening intently. 'Hammy.'

Galinda frowned, puzzled. 'What?' she asked, but just then, the door opened and Hamold came in. Elphaba nodded, satisfied, and repeated, 'Hammy.'

Hamold laughed. 'I fear I'm going to be stuck with that nickname from now on.' He looked down at Galinda sternly. 'You, little one, are not supposed to be in here.'

Galinda shuffled around a little. 'But… but I'm Elphie's bestest friend!' she whined, and Hamold's eyebrows shot up. 'Elphie?'

Galinda nodded proudly. 'She's Elphie. We're bestest friends now, Uncle Hammy. I was teaching her some new words.'

Hamold laughed. 'Oh, yeah? And what are those?'

'Pink,' declared Elphaba proudly, pointing at Galinda's dress. She played with the ruffles. 'Dress,' she said. 'Ruffles. Fashion.' She pointed at Galinda's hair. 'Blonde.'

'And what do you think of blonde, Elphie?' Galinda asked smugly. The green girl touched Galinda's curls. 'Blonde nice,' she said obediently, and Galinda giggled. 'And what am I, Elphie?'

'Pretty and smart!' Elphaba answered, remembering the correct reply to that question – according to Galinda, anyway - and Hamold laughed. He suspected that the green girl didn't really understand everything she had just said, was merely repeating after Galinda – particularly the latter part – but he was still impressed. Perhaps they could get her to speak, _really _speak, within a few weeks or so.

'Well done, Galinda,' he praised the blonde, who beamed at him. 'But I'm sorry,' Hamold continued, 'I'm still going to have to send you away.'

'We're leaving back home the day after tomorrow,' said Galinda, pouting. 'Can I please see her one more time before that?'

Hamold smiled at her. 'Sure, little one.' He softly ushered her out of the door, but she was barely gone for five minutes before Fiyero poked his head around the door. 'Hi, Dad. Can I-'

'Fiyero,' Hamold interrupted him sternly, getting up and taking his son outside. 'Could you kids just leave the poor girl alone for a few hours? Galinda just left, and now you're here again – for the third time today.' He looked down at his son. 'What _are _you doing here, anyway?' he asked.

Fiyero pouted. 'The cook threw us out of the kitchen,' he complained, and Cohvu, who was standing behind the prince, nodded earnestly, grinning. 'When Fiyero tried to steal the cookies.'

Fiyero elbowed his friend in the stomach. 'Shh!' he hissed. 'You weren't supposed to say that!'

Cohvu snickered. 'I know.'

Fiyero grumbled something. Then he looked back at his father, who was chuckling, and pouted once more. 'Dad, can I see her? Please?'

Hamold looked at his son more closely. 'You know what I think?' he said finally, smiling down at Fiyero. He ruffled the prince's hair. 'I think you, Yero, are a little bit in love with Elphaba.'

Fiyero looked absolutely horrified. 'In _love_?!' he echoed, making it sound as if that was the most disgusting thing he'd ever heard in his life. 'Of course not!' He shuddered. 'Yuck!'

Hamold laughed. 'Being in love isn't 'yuck', Fiyero. It's a very beautiful thing.'

Fiyero made a face. Cohvu, who was standing behind him, snickered again. 'Yero is in love!' he sang, and Fiyero stomped him. 'Shut up. I'm not.' A devious smirk crept onto his face. 'I know someone who is, though.'

Cohvu looked at his friend curiously. 'Who?'

'Galinda.' Fiyero grinned broadly. 'With you.'

Cohvu's eyes widened in pure horror. 'She can't be!' he protested. 'I mean… that's gross!'

'I know, right?' Fiyero agreed cheerfully. He sent another death glare in his father's direction. 'So _no_, I'm not in _love_,' he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. 'I just like Elphaba. She's nice. And I think she would be fun to play with – at least she doesn't seem to be a sissy, like Galinda.'

Hamold looked disapproving. 'Fiyero, you should really stop calling her that,' he scolded mildly. 'It's not nice.'

'But she called me stupid!' he defended himself. He huffed and crossed his arms. 'She's stupid herself.'

Cohvu asked in a frightened voice, 'Do you really think she's in love with me?'

Fiyero nodded seriously. 'Well…' He hesitated. 'I'm not sure if she's in _love _with you,' he admitted. 'But she thinks you're cute.' He wrinkled his nose again. 'That's so weird. I mean, you're not cute, are you? Puppies are cute, or baby turtles, or just babies, but _you_?'

Cohvu shrugged. 'I don't understand it, either.' He made a face. 'But I certainly don't think _she_'s cute.'

'Good for you,' Fiyero said contently, but then Cohvu added softly, 'She's pretty, though.'

Fiyero stared at him with wide eyes. 'You're in love with her, too!' he shouted, almost accusingly.

'Am not!' the other boy snapped back. 'But I can still think she's pretty! _You _said she was pretty once, and you said that the green girl was pretty, too!'

Fiyero fell silent – his friend had a point there. 'Okay, fine,' he conceded reluctantly. 'Maybe she's pretty. But you're not going to _kiss _her, are you?'

'Of course not.' Cohvu shuddered exaggeratedly. 'Ew.'

Fiyero nodded, satisfied. 'Good.'

His father laughed and ruffled their hair. 'Oh, dear Cohvu and Yero,' he said, smiling broadly as he shook his head. He patted their heads. 'You two still have so much to learn.'

With that, he left, leaving the two young boys behind in utter bewilderment.


	4. Chapter 4 We Are Family

**AN: Enjoy little Elphie, Yero, Cohvu, and Galinda for another chapter, because after this, I'm going to fast forward a few years ^_^.**

**Elphaba'sGirl: No, Elphaba didn't fall from a star, she's not from an alternate universe, she's not a princess of a secluded Vinkun tribe who got lost when her brother abandoned her, and she's not part fairy. Just keep guessing, just keep guessing... ;)**

**Artsoccer: ...Interesting... Do you happen to read minds?**

**LifeinWatercolor: Your review made me laugh so hard... LOL but you're right, she _does _look like a fish, right? :P Who knows? Maybe she really _is _part fish...**

* * *

**Chapter 4. We are family**

Galinda and her parents went home after that, with spring break being over; and Fiyero picked up his job as Elphaba's teacher.

He had introduced her to Cohvu as well, and she seemed to take quite a liking to him. Cohvu often went home with Fiyero after school and they would spend the rest of the afternoon teaching Elphaba all kinds of things: not just the common Ozian language, but also things like eating with a knife and a fork, which she seemed to find quite strange, and they introduced her to all the little games they played.

She turned out to be an excellent climber, lithely and easily clambering up trees and walls. She also seemed to be in good shape, for she could run for a very long time, though she couldn't really keep up with the two boys – she was rather small and her legs were much shorter than theirs. But she was improving quickly; she had been very unsteady and wobbly on her feet at first, tentatively taking step by step, but now she was running through the gardens with Cohvu and Fiyero without a second thought.

The more Elphaba started to speak, however, the more questions the teacher they had hired had started asking her; and soon it became clear that she didn't remember anything at all.

'She's a very peculiar girl,' the teacher had told Lori and Hamold quietly. 'The only two words she seems to understand coming from her own language are 'Papa' and 'Mama', but those words are so universal, it could be any language she's grown up with. She never says anything in her mother tongue, so I have no idea how we're supposed to figure out what her homeland is… She's willing to learn Ozian, though – she even likes it. In fact, she's very eager to learn _anything_. There seems to be nothing wrong with her… but she can't remember anything, beside her name and her age, and basic things like that. It's like her past, her memories, have been completely wiped from her mind.'

Hamold and Lori had debated for a long time about what to do with the little girl. They had no idea who she was or where she was from, and so they couldn't very well send her back; they had briefly discussed finding her a suitable home themselves, perhaps with a nice couple here in the Vinkus. However, it didn't take them long to realise how much Fiyero had changed since she'd appeared – how much happier he seemed now that he continuously had someone to play with. They knew he had been lonely, but after Fiyero was born, the doctor had told Lori that she wouldn't be able to have any other children or it might become the death of her.

'So isn't this the perfect solution?' Hamold had offered quietly. 'If we let her stay here…'

'Hamold…'

'Look at our son, Lori,' he had said gently. 'Just look at him. He's not lonely anymore, and it's not just him – the entire staff dotes on her, you know that. Do you really want to send her away?'

Lori had sighed and conceded. 'No. Alright, then. Let's keep her here.'

Fiyero had been overjoyed, and Cohvu had been enthusiastic, too. They had written a letter to Galinda; her reply came in pink ink on pink paper, and when he read it, Fiyero was glad that squeals didn't come off that well on paper or he would have been deaf right now.

One day, when Cohvu had gone home after school for a change - to help out his mother – Fiyero came up with a, in his eyes absolutely brilliant, plan: he was going to take Elphaba to the beach.

'I'm not sure about this, Fiyero,' Hamold told him seriously when he presented his parents with the plan. 'It's a big responsibility. She's a traumatised little girl that's only barely starting to open up, which is a reason why I'm not too keen on letting her off the castle grounds in the first place; but to take her to the _beach_? When she's allergic to water?'

Fiyero looked crestfallen and a bit insulted. 'I wasn't going to take her for a _swim _or anything,' he defended himself. 'I just wanted to show her the beach itself, and the turtle's eggs. Please, Dad? Mom? I promise I won't let her go anywhere near the water and we'll be back soon!'

Hamold looked at Lori. Lori sighed. 'I'm sorry, Yero,' she began, but just then, Elphaba came running in. 'Yero, Yero!' She skidded to a halt in front of him and looked up at him excitedly. 'Are we going to the beach now?' She turned around to face the King and Queen with a big grin on her face. 'Fiyero said that he would take me to the beach today!' she said happily. 'He says it's really beautiful and he's going to show me the little turtles!'

Both his parents gave him pointed looks, and he shuffled around, staring at his feet. 'Alright, yes, so I might have promised her that I would take her before I asked you guys,' he muttered.

Elphaba's face fell. 'We're not going?'

Lori grumbled something under her breath, then caved at the pleading look on the small girl's face. 'Fine,' she said with a sigh. 'You can go. But _please _be careful,' she said, and Fiyero jumped up to peck her cheek. 'Thank you so much, Mom!'

'Don't let her anywhere _near _the water!' Lori warned her son, and Fiyero rolled his eyes. 'I remember, Mom.' With that, he and Elphaba ran off.

The moment they stepped outside, they had a breathtaking view on the beach itself, with the sparkling blue sea right behind it. Elphaba sucked in a surprised breath, her eyes wide as she took in the picture.

Fiyero grinned upon seeing her reaction. He was glad she liked it. He himself, having grown up here, was still awed by the view sometimes, and especially today, it was beautiful. The sun was shining, illuminating the golden sand and reflecting off the splashing waves. The wind was still cold, and Elphaba pulled the vest she was wearing a bit tighter around her, hugging her small waist. 'It's really pretty.'

'I know, right?' Fiyero took her hand and pulled her with him. 'Come on.'

They ran across the beach for a while before Fiyero stopped, motioning for Elphaba to do the same. He brought his fingers to his lips. 'Ssh.' Then he slowly, quietly, moved forward.

The green girl watched his movements with interest, trying to follow just as silently. Finally, Fiyero knelt down in the sand and peered over a thick branch that had washed ashore. He hung over it and carefully brushed some of the sand away. Then he smiled and looked over his shoulder, beckoning her. 'Come.'

She inched closer and he pointed at something in the sand. She held her breath and Fiyero grinned at her. 'Sea turtle's eggs.'

'Wow,' she breathed. Fiyero nodded. 'Awesome, right? My Dad always took me to the beach to search for the eggs when I was younger,' he told her. 'Now I usually come here to search for them by myself, you know, since Dad is busy ruling the country and all.' He sighed, then shook his head. 'Anyway, I found this nest about two months ago, maybe a little less – seven weeks or something. Sea turtle's eggs take about two months to hatch, so when I found them, they were probably only there for a few days or so… They could hatch any moment now.'

Elphaba nodded. 'Do you think they'll hatch now?' she asked excitedly, but he shook his head. 'They usually hatch at night.'

She looked crestfallen. 'I wish I could see it.'

'Me, too.' Fiyero sighed, but then his face brightened. 'Maybe…' he said thoughtfully, a mischievous grin appearing on his face. 'Maybe we can.'

She looked at him questioningly.

He jumped to his feet. 'Come on, let's go back. I'll tell you later,' he promised, before breaking into a run towards the castle, Elphaba right behind him.

* * *

'Dad?'

Hamold looked up from the conversation he was having with one of his advisors. 'Yero, I'm busy right now,' he told his son sternly. 'I told you not to disturb me when I'm in a meeting.'

Fiyero pouted. 'But it's really important.'

The advisor laughed. 'It's okay, Your Majesty, I don't mind,' he assured Hamold.

'What is it, Yero?' the King asked with a sigh.

Fiyero bounced up and down. 'Those sea turtle eggs I showed you the other day,' he began, and his father quirked an eyebrow at him. 'You're disturbing me because of _sea turtles_?'

The prince looked indignant. '_Yes_. When do you think they'll hatch?'

Hamold sighed again and removed his reading glasses, rubbing his forehead. 'Fiyero…'

'Dad, please?'

The advisor looked amused. 'Oh, Your Majesty,' he said sympathetically when he saw Hamold's exasperation. 'It's good to know that our young Crown Prince is interested in the wildlife of the Vinkus, isn't it? Sea turtles are a very important part of the Vinkun ecological system.' He winked at Fiyero, who grinned back at him. Hamold looked like he was resisting the urge to bang his head against the table.

'I'm guessing in a few days, Fiyero,' he said after thinking it over for a while. 'But I don't know exactly when the eggs were laid, and so there's no predicting when exactly it will be. I think it will be Friday or Saturday night, but I can't be sure, of course.'

'Alright.' Fiyero nodded. 'And, Dad?'

'Yes, Fiyero?'

'At what time do you and Mom go to bed?'

The advisor was stifling a laugh and Hamold looked stunned. '_What_?!'

Fiyero crossed his arms indignantly, not understanding what was so funny. 'You heard me.'

Hamold shook his head. 'Around eleven, usually. Why, Yero?'

'Oh, just because.' He grinned at his father and waved at both men. 'Bye, Dad. Bye, sir.' Then he left the room.

On Friday, when he came home after school, he stopped by Elphaba's room. 'Elphaba?'

She looked up from the book she was reading. Speaking common Ozian was getting easier and easier for her, and now she was eager to move on to the next challenge – reading it. Within the past week or so, she had learned how to read the most basic Ozian words, but she was going at top speed – just another month or so, Fiyero thought unhappily, and she'd be better at reading than he himself was.

'Hi, Yero,' she said, and he stepped into the room. 'Make sure you're ready tonight around half past eleven,' he whispered to her. 'Dress warm.'

She looked incredulous. 'Half past eleven? At _night_?' she asked him, shocked, and he nodded proudly. 'Yes. We're going to watch the sea turtles hatch.'

Her face turned excited. 'Really?'

'I'm not sure,' he admitted. 'Dad doesn't know when they'll hatch, exactly, but he's guessing tonight or tomorrow night, so…'

'But…' Elphaba sat up straight. 'Are we allowed to do that?' she asked quietly. 'Sneaking out of the castle at night?'

'It's not sneaking!' he protested. 'It's just…' He thought about a good way to word it. 'Leaving when everyone else is sleeping,' he finished lamely.

She smiled. There were dimples in her cheeks when she did that, he noticed. 'Alright. I'll be ready.'

* * *

'Elphaba, are you ready?'

She slipped out of the door, quietly closing it behind her, a thick woollen vest pulled tightly around her. 'Yes.'

'Come on.' Fiyero went in the lead, peering around corners and doorways as he sneaked through the castle, with Elphaba right behind him. It was dark and quiet everywhere, and he shivered a little. 'I never knew Adurin Iir was so creepy at night,' he said unhappily. 'What if there are ghosts here?'

Elphaba snorted softly. 'Ghosts don't exist.'

He cast a look in her direction. 'How do you know?' he demanded, and she shrugged. 'I read it in a book.'

He huffed, but didn't say anything else as they moved towards the front door. When they reached it, Fiyero let out a relieved breath and reached for the bolts on the heavy door, but he froze when a throat was cleared behind him. 'And where do you think you're going?'

Fiyero gulped and turned around. His parents were standing against the wall opposite him, arms crossed, and expressions on their faces that didn't promise much good.

'Oh. Hi, Mom,' he said weakly. He swallowed. 'Hi, Dad.'

Hamold shook his head. 'I knew it,' he declared. 'I knew it the moment he started asking me about sea turtles and at what time your mother and I usually went to bed. Really, Fiyero? You were going to sneak outside in the middle of the night because you wanted to see the _turtles_ hatch?'

'Not to mention taking Elphaba with you?' Lori added. She didn't look mad; she looked disappointed, which, somehow, was far worse. 'I would have thought better of you, Fiyero,' she said quietly. 'This is very irresponsible behaviour, surely you understand that.'

'I'm sorry,' he tried. 'She just wanted to see the turtles hatch so badly, and I wanted to see it, too, so I decided to do this and… and I'm sorry. Really.'

'It wasn't his fault, Aunt Lori,' Elphaba said quietly. 'I agreed to come with him.'

Lori sighed and knelt down to level with the two children. 'I know, Elphaba,' she said gently. 'And I understand why you wanted to go.' She looked at her son again. 'But do you understand why this was a bad idea?'

Fiyero nodded. 'I'm sorry, Mom,' he said in a small voice, and she hugged him. 'That's alright, Yero. Just don't do it again, okay?' He nodded and she smiled at him, offering him her one hand and Elphaba her other. 'Well, let's get outside to the beach then, shall we?'

Both kids looked up at her with wide eyes. 'Really?' asked Fiyero breathlessly, and Lori chuckled. 'Yes, well, we're all up and about now, anyway, so we might as well see if those baby turtles feel like hatching, right?'

Elphaba beamed at his mother and Fiyero threw his arms around his mother's neck. 'You're the best Mom ever!'

Hamold shook his head, but he was smiling, too. 'Let's go, then.'

Together, the four of them walked along the beach. The moon was almost full, illuminating the sand so that they could see where they were walking, and reflecting its light off the waves of the ocean.

Elphaba shied away from the sea; she thought it looked beautiful, but the enormous amount of water frightened her. Lori noticed and put her arm around the girl protectively. 'Don't worry, sweetheart,' she reassured the small girl. 'We're not letting you anywhere near there.'

Fiyero, on the other hand, did run towards the sea, standing as close to it as he dared before quickly jumping back when a new wave washed over the sand, approaching his feet. He knelt down and picked up a big shell from the waves. 'Hey!' he called excitedly, running back towards his parents and Elphaba. 'Look what I found!'

He showed them the shell, which they all admired. 'It's really beautiful,' Elphaba said quietly, and Fiyero held out both his hands with the shell still in it. 'Here,' he offered. 'You can have it.'

She looked at him with wide eyes. 'Really?'

He nodded. 'I already have so many of them. Here-' He tried to put the shell in her hands, but Hamold quickly snatched it away. 'Be _careful_, Yero,' he said warningly, gesturing towards the water that was still dripping off the shell.

Fiyero flushed a little. 'Oh. Right. Sorry.'

Hamold carefully dried the shell with a handkerchief, examining it for any more drops of water before handing it to Elphaba. She cradled it in her hands, admiring it and beaming at Fiyero. 'Thank you.'

They moved on to the spot where the eggs were and all lay down into the sand on their stomachs, peering over the thick branch that marked the spot. Hamold gingerly brushed away the loose sand covering the eggs. Then they all watched and waited.

Time passed by slowly, and nothing happened. Finally, Lori shook her head. 'Kids, it's getting really late now, and nothing's happening. We'd better-'

'Mom, look!' Fiyero whispered excitedly, pointing at the eggs. One of them was slowly cracking open, and they all held their breaths as a tiny turtle head poked out of the hole in the egg. 'Aw,' said Elphaba softly. 'It's so small!'

'They're cute, aren't they?' Fiyero agreed. They made sure to keep as quiet as possible as slowly, one by one, the eggs in the turtle's nest hatched, revealing tiny turtles that wiggled their way out of the eggshells, then started making their way through the sand towards the ocean. It really was an awe-inspiring sight, and all four of them were completely entranced by it.

'You know what?' said Lori quietly. She wrapped one arm around her son and the other around Elphaba, pulling them a little closer as she looked down at them. 'I know I was a little angry with you for trying to sneak out of the castle to see this – and don't get me wrong, I still don't approve,' she added sternly. Then she softened. 'But honestly? I wouldn't want to have missed this for the world.'

Hamold smiled and ruffled Fiyero's hair, then placed a hand on Elphaba's shoulder. 'None of us would have, I think.'

Elphaba raised her gaze from the turtle's nest to look at the hand that was lying on her shoulder, and Lori's arm around her. She glanced up at Hamold's face, then at Lori's; they both looked content and happy, and so did Fiyero. A warm feeling flooded through her.

For the first time since she could remember, she felt like she was part of a family.

* * *

Galinda returned to Adurin Iir with her father in summer vacation, and upon arriving, she immediately went to find her 'bestest friend'.

'Elphie!' she squealed, throwing her arms around the startled green girl in a hug. 'I've missed you so much! Tell me, Elphie,' she tossed her blonde curls and batted her eyes, 'what am I?'

Elphaba looked at her in exasperation. 'You do know that I actually know what I'm saying now, don't you?' she asked the blonde pointedly. 'And if you think for a clock-tick that I'm going to reply with 'pretty and smart', you're going to have to think again. Besides, I think it was kind of mean of you to teach me to say that in the first place while I had no idea what I was even saying.'

Galinda blinked at the other girl. 'Wow. You have changed!' She gasped. 'But this is so amazifying! You can really understand what I'm saying now! Can I take you shopping some day, Elphie? We should go out and do some girl stuff together! I don't know what that means, really, but Momsie always says that's what she does with her friends, girl stuff, so it must be fun!' She bounced up and down. 'Just you and me!'

Elphaba looked a bit bewildered. 'But what about Cohvu and Fiyero?' she asked, and Galinda shook her head. 'Just girls, Elphie. No boys there. Boys are stupid.' She wrinkled her nose. 'Well… except for Cohvu. Sometimes.'

'Boys aren't stupid!' Elphaba protested. 'I always play with boys during lunch break at school. I like them.'

Galinda gasped. 'You play with _boys _at school? Wait a clock-tick,' she frowned, 'you're _going _to school?'

Elphaba nodded proudly. 'I'm officially going to start after summer vacation,' she announced, 'but I've been there a couple of times already to get used to it. Uncle Hamold and Aunt Lori said that they thought I was ready. I've been reading a lot, too.' She held up a book and Galinda moaned. 'Oh, no! Elphie, you can't do this!' she complained. 'You can't play with boys and read books! You have to go shopping with me and… and do girl stuff!' She brightened. 'Can I do your hair?'

Lori and Hamold were watching the girls from the sitting area, sipping their tea. Cohvu and Fiyero came storming in with a fish they'd caught, showing it off proudly; Galinda shrieked and fled to the other side of the room when she saw it, while Elphaba got mad with them because she thought it was wrong to kill animals just for fun.

Hamold shook his head, amused. 'I think we're going to have to brace ourselves for when those kids get older,' he said to his wife. 'Can you imagine them as teenagers?'

Lori moaned. 'I don't want to,' she said, only half-joking. She studied the children for a moment. 'I think we're going to be up for a great challenge.'


	5. Chapter 5 Schadenfreude

**AN: Little Yero cute? Absolutely. Teenage Fiyero cute? Not. At. All. You'll see.**

**Elphaba'sGirl: Punished by the mer community because her father _Frex _is evil? That would be so mean :O "Your Dad is evil, let's banish you." Nope, it's not that, but you might be getting warmer. And no, she wasn't banished from a tribe because of her magic powers (she does have them, though, as we will find out later).**

**MyVisionIsDying, I love your 'abducted-by-alient-then-left-on-the-beach'-theory , but it's not the case :P. And she also didn't wander out onto the beach and hit her head.**

**Musicgal, your review made me laugh so hard xD.**

**Siarenthander, no, she's not from earth ;).**

**Sorry guys, no Fiyeraba yet... but there might be some Colinda coming up *waggles eyebrows*.**

**Can you guess to which song I was listening while writing this? :3**

* * *

**Chapter 5. Schadenfreude**

'Dancing through life,' Fiyero sang softly, quite literally sliding into the room in his tight white pants and picking an apple from the fruit bowl. He threw it up in the air, turned a pirouette and caught the piece of fruit again. 'Swaying and sweeping…' He took a bite as he walked further into the room, snapping his fingers to a beat only he could hear. 'And always keeping cool…'

Something hit him in the back of his head and he whipped around. 'Hey! What was that for?'

'For you being the brainless idiot you are,' Elphaba, who was sitting in a chair at the other side of the room, snapped at him. 'Would you stop singing that stupid song? Some people are trying to _study _here.'

'The song is not stupid!' he protested. 'It's awesome!' He turned another pirouette in front of her, striking a pose. 'What do you think of my new pants? Since I didn't get them for my seventeenth birthday the other day, I thought I'd just buy them myself. Aren't they awesome? Seriously, what do you think of them?'

Cohvu, who sat on Elphaba's other side, was stifling his laughter. 'Why, Yero… they sure are… um…'

'Tight?' Elphaba offered drily, and Cohvu chuckled. 'Yeah… that.'

Elphaba smirked and smacked her flat hand against Cohvu's in a triumphant gesture.

Fiyero just huffed. 'Yes, they're tight… but they're supposed to be,' he tried to explain. 'It's totally fashionable to dress like this. I bet Galinda would agree with me if she were here. Where is she, anyway?'

'Shopping,' said Cohvu. 'She tried to drag Elphaba with her, but didn't succeed.'

'Thank Oz,' muttered Elphaba.

'She'll probably be back soon,' Cohvu added, and Fiyero brightened. 'Awesome. I can't wait to hear what she thinks of my pants!' he said enthusiastically. He jumped up in the air, dancing on as he started humming his stupid song again.

Elphaba threw another pen at his head. 'Shut _up_, Fiyero!'

'Fine,' he said, offended. 'I'll just go to someone who _does _appreciate my pants.'

Cohvu laughed. 'Oh, so now your pants feel unappreciated? Poor pants.'

Elphaba sniggered and Fiyero glared at them both. 'You can laugh all you want,' he declared, keeping his head up high, 'but know that _I _will have the last laugh. I am going to be even more popular than I already am, and one day I will be loved by every single person in Oz, along with my song and my pants.' He made a few dance moves. 'Nothing matters, but knowing nothing matters…' He jumped onto a chair, then onto the table, making the lamp hanging above it swing dangerously back and forth. 'It's just life, so keep dancing-'

_Crack._

Fiyero froze. Slowly, he turned around, trying to get a good look at his backside. 'Did… did my pants just…'

'Rip?' Cohvu finished, trying his hardest to stifle his laughter, but failing horribly. 'Yes.'

Fiyero turned around again, horror written all over his face; and that expression, combined with his ripped pants, sent both Cohvu and Elphaba into a fit of laughter that nearly literally got them rolling off their chairs.

Fiyero went beet red, with both shame and anger. 'Stop laughing! It's not funny!'

'It's schadenfreude,' Elphaba managed to choke out, still laughing. Fiyero just scowled at her. 'What?'

'People taking pleasure in your pain!' Cohvu said in a sing-song voice, before bursting out into another fit of laughter upon seeing the look on Fiyero's face.

The prince stormed out of the room, embarrassed and mad at his friends for laughing at him.

'You know,' Cohvu said after a while, when their laughter had died down a bit. His gray eyes were suddenly serious. 'We're laughing now, but honestly? I don't think it's all that funny.'

Elphaba's grin faded and she sighed. 'I know. Me neither.' She pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on top of her knees. 'He just _changed _so much. What happened to the boy that took me to the beach each year to watch the sea turtles hatch? The one that we used to play games with, that taught me how to ride a horse? Now all he's interested in are parties and girls and alcohol.'

Cohvu slumped down into his chair. 'Sometimes I think he's forgotten all about us,' he complained. 'I mean, this new friend group of his at school is demanding all his attention. Just _look _at him. Tight white pants… don't make me laugh. And those sunglasses… not to mention the girls always swarming all around him.'

'He's got himself yet another girlfriend, did you know that?' Elphaba asked him, and Cohvu rolled his eyes. 'That would be number nine this month. Seriously, I don't know _what_ he's up to.'

Somewhere in the castle, a door slammed shut and it wasn't before long that Galinda pretty much skipped into the room, beaming and carrying a few large shopping bags. 'Good afternoon, everyone!' she gushed. 'Look at everything I've bought today!' She dumped the bags in Cohvu and Elphaba's laps. 'I got a pair of shoes that match my new outfit – you know, the yellow one - and I bought an outfit that matches my new pair of shoes – the blue and silver ones, remember, with the high heels – and then I bought some jewellery and new make-up to go with it all, and then I saw this amazifying fuchsia sundress and I just _had _to buy it, but then I had to go in search of a matching hat, necklace, and pair of shoes again, so that's why I took so long.' She had to take a deep breath after that. 'Anything interesting happen around here while I was away?'

'Fiyero bought himself tight white pants,' Cohvu informed her, and Elphaba added drily, 'And he ripped them almost right away with one of his stupid little dances.'

Galinda giggled. 'Shame I wasn't here to see that.' She plopped down into a chair next to Elphaba and abruptly changed the subject. 'I still think it's weird that you don't like shopping, Elphie. I mean, you're a girl, for Oz's sake.'

'I'm also green,' Elphaba quipped, and Galinda quirked an eyebrow at her. 'And that has anything to do with shopping because…?'

'Because one,' Elphaba said, 'shopping means going out in a public place, where once again, everyone is going to stare at me – including the shop assistants. And two, because it's really, _really _hard to find a colour that doesn't clash with… well, me.'

'If you would just come _with _me once, I could show you that that's not true!' Galinda whined, but then she shook her head. 'Never mind. Where is Fifi, anyway?'

Just then, Fiyero came dancing into the room once more, twirling before them. 'What do you think?' he said smugly. 'No rip to be seen, right?'

Elphaba raised one eyebrow. 'How did you do that?'

Fiyero grinned. 'I bought five pairs of these pants, just to be sure, and because I loved them so much.' Then he saw Galinda and his face lit up. 'Ooh, Glin! You're back! What do you think?' He showed off his pants once more, and to his utter delight, Galinda squealed in enthusiasm. 'Oh, Fifi!' she nearly screeched, jumping up and down. 'Those are so _swankified_!'

'I know, right!' He started dancing again. 'We can dance 'til it's light…' he sang. 'Find the prettiest girl, give her a whirl…' He took Galinda's hand and made her spin, which caused her to giggle madly. 'You think I'm the prettiest girl?' she asked him, batting her eyelashes at him.

Fiyero smiled at her, then looked over her blonde head and winked at Elphaba. 'Not really, actually.'

She rolled her eyes at him. 'Cut the crap, Tiggular.'

He put one hand over his heart mockingly. 'Ouch. That hurt my feelings, Fae.'

A few months after the Tiggulars had officially taken Elphaba in, Fiyero had declared that he found 'Elphaba' to be too long. Why he had resorted to 'Fae' as a way of shortening her name, she didn't know – it didn't seem at all logical to her, but since she couldn't talk it out of his head, she had just accepted it.

'Yes, well,' she sneered at him now, 'your ego is so huge at the moment, there's no harm in making it deflate a little.'

He scowled at her. 'What in Oz is wrong with you? Got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?' He shook his head. 'Anyway, I'm off to the guys. See you later.' With that, he disappeared.

Cohvu sighed deeply. 'See what I mean now?'

'I just hope that it's a phase,' Elphaba muttered, 'and that it will pass soon, because he's no fun at all like this.'

'Coco?' Galinda asked in a small voice, and Cohvu looked up at her. 'Yeah, Glin?'

Now she was fluttering her eyelashes at _him_. 'Do _you _think I'm the prettiest girl?' she asked him with a slight pout, and he chuckled and took her hand, kissing it in an exaggerated gesture. 'Of course, Milady. You are the most gorgeous woman ever in existence.'

The blonde blushed and giggled. Elphaba crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow, pretending to be offended. 'Well, thank you very much.'

Galinda giggled again. 'Oh, don't worry, Elphie,' she assured her friend. 'You can come in second.'

Elphaba just shook her head in exasperation.

* * *

It was a few days later, when school had resumed after Lurlinemas break and Galinda had gone back home, that Lori went for a walk on the beach and found Elphaba there, sitting on top of the dunes, staring off into the distance. It wasn't until she came closer that she noticed the tear streaks on the green girl's cheeks, and she frowned a little. Elphaba almost never cried.

She climbed to the top of the dune Elphaba was sitting on and sat down next to her. 'Elphaba? What's wrong, sweetheart?' she asked gently, and Elphaba sniffled. 'It's nothing,' she said, turning away from the older woman. 'It's… stupid.'

Lori wrapped an arm around her. 'Talk to me.'

The girl heaved a shaky sigh. 'It's just… this really _is _stupid, but… I miss Yero,' she finally confessed. 'He's just so… so different, and I don't like one bit of it. Every time I see him, he's either dancing around in his stupid tight pants or kissing one girl or the other completely senseless in front of everybody.' She sighed. 'At first I thought it was just annoying, but now… I just miss him,' she said softly. 'We've been best friends for, like, forever, and now he barely so much as looks at me – unless it's to make some kind of 'funny' remark.' She frowned. 'The other day, one of his friends nearly bumped into me, and do you know what Fiyero said? 'Maybe he saw green and it meant 'go'.' She rested her chin on top of her knees. 'And that from the one person in my life that I thought would never make stupid joked about my skin.'

Lori pulled her closer, rubbing her back. 'It's just a phase, Elphaba,' she said reassuringly. 'Sooner or later, he's going to realise that he can't keep on 'dancing through life' forever.'

'I hope so,' Elphaba muttered, wiping her nose with her sleeve. She sighed and Lori laughed softly. 'I know what you're saying, Elphaba,' she said consolingly. 'Believe me, I know. Hamold and I are worried about him, too. He's just not acting like himself, and we're not sure why. He says nothing is wrong, but I don't believe that.' She shook her head. 'I think something is bothering him and that's why he is like this. If only we knew what.'

'Yeah…' Elphaba sighed again and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Suddenly, she frowned a little, studying her fingers with the traces of her tears on the tips. 'Lori?' She and Cohvu had dropped the 'Aunt' and 'Uncle' when they got older, though Galinda still called Fiyero's parents that.

'Yes?'

'Have you ever wondered why regular water burns me, but my own tears do not?'

Lori blinked, then looked at Elphaba's fingertips and her cheeks. There wasn't a trace of red to be seen, let alone the blisters that usually came with the green girl touching water – as they had found out several times over the past years. They had all been careful with water around Elphaba, but nevertheless, they couldn't protect her from water completely; it had happened a few times that someone had accidentally spilled a drink over her skin, or that she had been outside when it had started raining. They had found that treating the blisters with oil seemed to have a soothing effect, though, so that the burn wounds at least disappeared relatively quickly again.

'You're right,' the Queen said, musing. 'I've never thought about that.'

Elphaba wiped her hand on her dress. 'Me, neither. Perhaps it's just because tears are a natural thing, you know – it would be pretty weird if I were allergic to fluids created by my own body, wouldn't it?'

Lori shook her head, smiling. 'You sound like a biology expert.'

Elphaba flashed her a grin. 'I have a biology test tomorrow. I've been studying for it for the past few days.' Her face brightened. 'Hey… perhaps I could ask my biology teacher if he knows something about my skin! I don't know – perhaps there are conditions or illnesses or something that come with green skin…'

'Elphaba,' Lori said firmly, placing her hand on the green girl's shoulders. 'It's not an illness, sweetheart, and you should stop looking at it as if it is. You just have green skin. Nothing more, nothing less.'

'And I'm allergic to water,' Elphaba added sarcastically. 'Perfectly normal.'

Lori sighed. 'Elphaba…'

'Alright, alright. But I could still ask, right?' the girl said. 'Or even my geography teacher – who knows, perhaps there's a land across the ocean that's completely populated with green people and that's where I come from!' She seemed excited at the mere idea.

'Sweetie,' Lori said sympathetically. 'There's nothing across the sea but the Great Kells and the rest of Oz. Don't get your hopes up, okay?' She squeezed Elphaba's shoulder. 'You might never find out where you came from or what happened to you that landed you here.'

Elphaba sighed. 'I know.' She looked at the Queen. 'And I _am _happy that I ended up here,' she added. 'You do know that, don't you?'

Lori laughed and hugged the girl. 'Of course I do, sweetheart. We're very happy to have you here, too.' She touched Elphaba's nose with her index finger. 'Even Fiyero, though he doesn't really show it right now. Don't worry, he will come around. Eventually. You just wait and see.'

* * *

A few weeks later, when Fiyero came home from school, Lori immediately noticed that he looked as if he had been given a good beating. There was a bruise in his face, his clothes were dirty and torn here and there, and his face was one big thundercloud. 'Yero?'

He stomped into the room. '_What_?' she snapped, and she eyed him up and down, one eyebrow arched. 'What in Oz happened to you?'

He grumbled. 'Me and Cohvu had a fight.'

Lori was stunned. 'A fight?' she echoed. 'Yero, you and Cohvu haven't had a fight since the day you first met. _Ever_. I've barely even seen the two of you so much as argue together.'

'I know,' Fiyero sneered. 'But this was a fight.'

'Sit down,' Lori ordered, gesturing towards a chair. 'Tell me what happened.'

With an exaggerated sigh, he plopped down into the chair, swinging his legs over the arm of it and tapping on the other arm with his fingers. 'So I was kissing this girl,' he said in a bored voice. 'And then some other chick asked me to dance for her, so I did. I jumped onto the picnic table in the schoolyard and then my pants ripped. Again.'

Lori stifled a laugh. Fortunately, Fiyero was studying his nails rather than his mother, so he didn't notice that. 'Anyway, most of them then laughed at me. Elphaba was there, and she was laughing, too, and I was pissed, so I told her that vegetables should be seen and not heard-'

His mother exploded. 'You did _what_?!'

'She laughed at me!' he defended himself, but Lori rose to her feet, her hazel eyes smouldering. 'Fiyero Hamold Tiggular!' she fumed. 'What is _happening _to you?!'

Her son just shrugged. 'Oz, Mom, relax. It's not like she cares, or something. She knew it was a joke.'

'Did she now?' Lori asked in a dangerously low voice, but Fiyero just rolled his eyes. 'Anyways, Cohvu then got mad at me for saying that, just like you just now, and he insisted I take it back. I told him no, and then he pushed me up against a wall and ordered me to apologise to Elphaba, which, of course, I didn't, and then he punched me. Just like that, he punched me!' He rubbed his slightly bruised jaw with an indignant face. 'So I punched him back, and he got a bloody nose, and he pushed me against the wall again and then we started fighting until the teacher pulled us apart and sent us both off to detention. All my friends told her that it was just Cohvu who had started it, but she didn't believe us because Elphaba told her that it wasn't Cohvu at all, it was me, which I thought was really mean of her-'

'You thought it was mean of _her_?' Lori interrupted him incredulously. She shook her head. 'Fiyero, I don't believe this!'

'So then we both got detention,' Fiyero finished, ignoring her. He rose to his feet. 'Can I go now?' Without waiting for an answer, he stomped out of the kitchen.

Lori sighed and rested her face in her hands, suddenly feeling tired. She was going to have a long talk with her son soon.


	6. Chapter 6 Beauty In The Water

**AN: Yeah... you're probably going to hate Fiyero even more after reading this, but it will get better in the next chapter, I promise.**

**Vinkunwildflowerqueen: I completely agree. I hate those pants.**

**EmeraldReine: This update (yes, another one today!) is for you, but if you're looking for Fiyeraba fluffles, it's not going to make you happy :3.**

**Elphaba'sGirl: Nope ^_^. But keep guessing!**

**Queen Failey: She's not literally the daughter of the ocean, but I guess you're getting closer. (And yeah, that's actually a pretty good idea. She might just do that in the next chapter or so O:).)**

**Musicgal: Girl, I still love your reviews so much! :D I love reading your favourite lines and the fact that your reviews are always so long :3. I know, I'm hating Fiyero, too, at the moment. Your theory about why he is acting that way is interesting, but it's not the reason... though you're not wrong about it, either :3.**

**EmeraldElphaba: ...not exactly, but you're close, too. And you'll find out if your other theory is true in this chapter ^_^.**

**Sorry for the ridiculously long AN - again. Moving on now.**

* * *

**Chapter 6. Beauty in the water**

When Galinda came to Adurin Iir again, during summer vacation nearly six months later, she was shocked at the change of mood between her friends.

It all started out innocently enough. Lori and Hamold greeted her warmly when they saw her, and she kissed their cheeks. 'It's good to be back,' she beamed, and Hamold laughed. 'It's nice to have you back, Galinda.' His face darkened a little. 'Perhaps you could bring everyone to their senses.'

Galinda frowned. 'What?'

'Your friends,' Hamold explained with a roll of his eyes. 'They're acting like they've all gone insane.'

'It's Yero's fault,' Lori added. 'Just go in, sweetheart, and see for yourself.'

Puzzled, Galinda had moved towards the sitting room she knew her friends liked most. She found Elphaba there, curled up in a chair, reading; the green girl looked up when she heard someone enter and her face broke into a smile. 'Galinda!'

'Elphie!' the blonde exulted, and Elphaba put her book away and rose to her feet to greet her friend. Galinda immediately flung herself at the other girl in a giant bear-hug. 'Oz, Elphie, I missed you so much!'

'I missed you, too, Glin,' Elphaba said honestly. 'It's good to have someone relatively normal around here again.'

'Relatively?' Galinda frowned, feeling the tiniest bit offended, until the rest of Elphaba's words got through to her. 'Wait, what? Elphie? What do you mean?'

In reply, Elphaba pointed towards the door. Fiyero came walking in, bouncing a little and humming his stupid song; Cohvu was right behind him, looking as grumpy as Galinda had ever seen him. 'Fiyero, for Oz's sake, I was trying to _talk _to you!'

'I don't want to talk to you!' Fiyero snapped. 'You're obnoxious and annoying!'

'Do you even know what 'obnoxious' means?' Cohvu demanded. 'It's a miracle you even pronounced it right!'

'Don't you dare pretend that I'm some kind of brainless idiot!'

'You _are _a brainless idiot!'

'I'll just go talk to someone else then!' Fiyero sneered, before turning to Elphaba. He grinned at her. 'Hi, Fae.'

She ignored him, turning her back towards him.

'_She _stopped talking to you after you called her a wilted cabbage leaf this morning, remember?' Cohvu reminded him snappily.

Galinda gasped, horrified. '_Fifi_! You did _not_!'

Only then did the guys notice her and Fiyero flashed her a beaming smile. 'Hi, Glin.' He kissed her hand in an exaggerated gesture. 'I would kiss you on the lips, but my current girlfriend is _really _into loyalty and stuff.' He rolled his eyes. 'Ah, well. I'm going to dump her soon, anyway – she's boring.' Suddenly, his face brightened. 'Hey, Glin! You and I should date!'

'_What_?!' choked out Elphaba and Cohvu at the same time, and Fiyero beamed at the blonde girl. 'I mean, like, seriously – I'm a perfect, handsome, popular prince, you're a perfect, pretty, popular blonde girl – we'd be perfect together!'

Cohvu looked about ready to murder his friend, but Galinda sniffed and crossed her arms. 'No way, Tiggular,' she declared gruffly. '_No one _who calls my best friend a wilted cabbage leaf could ever even _dream _of becoming my boyfriend.'

That earned her a sincere smile from Elphaba and a squeezed in her hand from Cohvu. 'There. I'm glad you agree with me.' He glared at Fiyero. 'He's been horrendible lately.'

'I am not!' Fiyero protested. He huffed. 'Just because _you _suddenly feel the need to criticise everything I do!'

'Because everything you do is either mean or brainless! You've been behaving like an idiot!'

'Are you calling me stupid?'

'You said it, not me!'

'I hate you!' Fiyero yelled at his friend. 'If you were a _real _friend, you wouldn't be like this! You're supposed to support me and never let me down, remember? What happened to our promise to be best friends forever, huh?'

'Best friends forever?' Cohvu hissed, slowly rising to his feet. 'I'm supposed to support you and never let you down? What about _you_, Yero?'

'I have always supported you!' Fiyero declared hotly. 'And I would _never _let _you_ down!'

'You already have!' Cohvu shouted back at him. 'You've been treating us like garbage, Fiyero! You don't call your friends names and you don't bully them! And support? Don't make me laugh! If you've always been so supportive, then where were you when my grandfather died, huh? You didn't even _listen _to me when I tried to tell you about it!'

Now the prince looked baffled. 'Your grandfather died?' He hadn't even known that.

'Two months ago,' Cohvu said, suddenly quiet. 'I asked you to come to the funeral with me, and you promised you'd be there. You weren't. Elphaba was there. She was there to support me, and she did an amazing job doing so, but you weren't there.'

Fiyero looked confused. Vaguely, he did remember that Cohvu had been trying to tell him something, but he hadn't really been listening – he'd been thinking about which jacket he was going to wear to the party that night.

Elphaba bristled. 'You don't even _remember_?!'

Sheepishly, he shook his head. Elphaba was about to fly at him, wanting nothing more than to scratch his eyes out, but Cohvu's hand on her shoulder calmed her down. 'Don't,' he said. 'He's not worth it.'

He looked at his friend. 'I don't want to throw away twelve years of friendship, Fiyero,' he said quietly. 'But if this is the person you are now, then you're not giving me much of a choice.' With that, he silently left the room.

The others were quiet for a while. Fiyero looked at the two girls with wide eyes, and Elphaba said in a low, threatening voice, 'You'd better change that attitude of yours, Fiyero. It can't go on like this or you're going to lose us all.' She gazed up at him. 'Unless you prefer the company of your _new _friends over us,' she said, trying her hardest not to sneer. 'If that's the case, and you don't want our friendship anymore, anyway, then just keep on doing what you're doing and you'll get your wish.' She rose to her feet. 'Come on, Glin.'

The blonde followed her friend without so much as casting another glance in Fiyero's direction, leaving him alone in the middle of the sitting room.

* * *

They went outside and onto the beach. It was nice out there; it was summer and rather warm outside, and not for the first time, Elphaba longed to just jump into the brightly sparkling sea to cool down. But then again, she probably shouldn't – she'd end up a melted puddle of green goo, and she didn't really fancy that. 'I just don't understand what's the matter with him.'

Galinda let her head drop against Elphaba's shoulder as they walked. 'I know. I can see why you've been craving for some normal company,' she said teasingly, and Elphaba chuckled. 'Yes, well, Fiyero is hardly to be called 'normal' anymore, and Cohvu… He's still a good friend, but every time he and Fiyero are in the same room together, I feel like the moment one of them opens their mouth, all hell is going to break loose. He's really had enough of it, and I can't blame him, either.'

'Perhaps _he _could use some normal company, too,' the blonde said with a mischievous twinkle in her cerulean eyes. Elphaba laughed. 'Yes, why don't you go and try that out?' she suggested. 'I think it's about time you make a move.'

Galinda abruptly stopped walking. '_What_?!'

The green girl laughed again. 'Oh, come on, Glin. We all know that you like Cohvu.' She pursed her lips and made kissing sounds. 'Cohvu and Galinda, sitting in a tree…'

Galinda blushed furiously. 'No!' she protested. 'I don't like him like that!'

Elphaba rolled her eyes. 'Sure. And I'm a sea turtle.'

Galinda stuck out her tongue and wandered off towards the sea, letting the waves wash over her bare feet as she held up her skirts to prevent them from getting wet. 'Yes, well,' she mused quietly, staring out over the sea, then giving in with a sigh. 'Okay,' she admitted. 'I might like him just the tiniest bit.'

'He likes you, too,' Elphaba assured her, and the blonde's eyes lit up. 'Really?'

Her friend nodded. 'He talks about you a lot. And the look on his face when he looks at you… He's definitely got a crush on you. You should ask him to go on a date.'

Galinda flushed. 'Elphie! Girls don't ask boys on dates!' she protested. 'It has to be the other way around!'

Elphaba shoved her playfully, making the blonde stumble and almost topple over into the water. 'Don't be such an old-fashioned priss!' she teased, and Galinda grinned widely. 'Oh, you're going to get it, you mean little…' She was cut off when she suddenly stumbled over a small rock in the sand and lost her balance. She flapped her arms, but to no avail; she toppled over and fell right on her behind in the sand. A wave washed over her skirt, as if to humiliate her further, and she grumbled. 'My new dress!' she wailed, and Elphaba sniggered. 'Oh, poor you. Now you found yourself an excuse to go and buy a new one. The horror.'

'Shut up, Elphie,' Galinda giggled, playfully scooping up some sea water in her cupped hands and throwing it at Elphaba. The water hit her bare arm and legs, and Elphaba gasped.

Galinda's hand flew to her mouth in horror when she realised what she'd done. 'Oh, Elphie, I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking…' She trailed off, however, when no burn marks appeared on Elphaba's skin. No sizzling sound. No redness to be seen. Just smooth, green skin.

She looked up at Elphaba with wide eyes. The green girl herself was gaping at her arm, then raising her skirts to look down at her legs, not believing what she was seeing. 'What… I mean, how…'

'Elphie,' Galinda whispered in awe. 'You're not allergic to water anymore!' Immediately, she jumped to her feet and started bouncing up and down. 'Now you can take showers and baths and swim and dance in the rain and-'

'Galinda,' Elphaba interrupted her, shaking her head. 'I don't think my water allergy just subsided.'

Galinda's face fell. 'You don't?'

Elphaba shook her head, then knelt down at a safe distance from the water. When a wave slowly approached her, she tentatively reached out, touching the water with her fingertips; she already braced herself for the burning sensation, but there was none. It was just cool, moist, liquid… water.

She stared at her own fingers in amazement, then inched closer to the water to touch it again. 'I think…' she whispered, and then she looked up at Galinda, excited. 'I think I'm only allergic to _fresh _water.'

Galinda screwed up her nose in thought. 'You're allergic to rain,' she said slowly. 'You can't drink normal water… but… have you ever even _tried _touching salt water?'

'Only tears,' said Elphaba. 'I figured they didn't burn me because they come from my own body, but… but what if they don't burn me because they're salt?' She looked at the sea longingly. 'What if I can really touch salt water?'

'Why don't you take a swim and find out?' Galinda suggested with a smile, and Elphaba moved another meter or so towards the water. It reached her ankles now, and she held her breath for a moment. 'It's not burning. It's really not burning!' She jumped up and down, then threw her arms around Galinda – who was still wet from her fall into the water, earlier, but who cared? It didn't burn her, anyway!

Galinda laughed as her friend let go of her and started wading into the sea. Now the blonde grew worried. 'Elphie, are you sure you should-'

_Splash_. The green girl had already disappeared under the water, ducking down beneath the surface.

Galinda waited a bit anxiously, her heart pounding. The water was shallow here, but still – Elphaba couldn't swim yet. 'Elphie?' she called.

Just then, Elphaba surfaced again, jumping up and down in the shallow water. 'I can really touch water!' she exclaimed happily. She looked at the point where the water got deeper. 'Only I guess you're going to have to teach me how to swim.'

Galinda laughed, relieved. 'I'll teach you tomorrow,' she promised. 'We'll ask Lori and Hamold to help, and Cohvu, and…' Her voice trailed off, and a shadow crossed Elphaba's face for a moment. She shook her head, drops of water flying from her long raven hair. 'I'm not even going to tell Fiyero,' she said flatly. 'He probably won't care, anyway.'

Galinda hugged her friend. 'Oh, Elphie…'

'It's fine,' the green girl said with a shrug. She snorted. 'I just hope he'll come around soon.'

'Me too, Elphie,' Galinda sighed. 'Me too.'

Then she punched her friend's arm. 'But who cares about that stupid Fifi? You can touch water! _Some_ water, anyway.'

Elphaba immediately beamed again. 'I know, right?' She jumped up and down again, making her friend laugh at her enthusiasm. 'Look, there's Cohvu!' She grabbed Galinda's hand and pulled her with her. 'Let's go tell him!'

Galinda stopped her. 'No,' she said, grinning. 'Don't tell him. _Show _him.'

Elphaba laughed. 'What, just jump into the water? He'll get a heart attack!'

The grin on the blonde's face widened. 'Exactly.'

'Ooh.' Elphaba chortled. 'You wicked girl.'

'Let's pretend we're fighting,' Galinda whispered, then started yelling at the green girl. 'You're so stupid!'

'Galinda, this is mean.'

'You're the worst friend ever!'

'Glin, I'm really not playing along. I feel bad for Cohvu.'

Cohvu walked up to them, heaving a sigh. 'Guys, come on,' he said tiredly. '_Please _not you too. What are _you_ fighting about now?'

Elphaba opened her mouth to tell him that they weren't really fighting, but just then, Galinda screeched, 'I hate you, Elphaba Thropp!' and pushed her friend so hard that she ended up falling face-first into the water.

Cohvu already started panicking, but Elphaba quickly scrambled to her feet again, glaring at the blonde. 'I said I wasn't going to play along!'

Galinda smirked at her. 'You didn't have to.'

Meanwhile, Cohvu was nearly hyperventilating. 'Elphaba!' he spluttered. 'You… the water… you're… what…'

'She's not allergic to salt water, Coco!' Galinda exulted, bouncing up and down. 'We just found that out! She can swim in the sea! Well, she can't actually _swim _yet, but she could, if we taught her!'

Cohvu gawked at the green girl with wide eyes. 'For real?'

She nodded, smiling, and he grinned at her. 'Wow, El… that's really cool.'

She beamed at him. 'I know, right?' Then her face fell a little. 'Only it's kind of lame that I only just found that out,' she complained. 'I've been living ten years of my life thinking that I couldn't touch water at all! I could have learned how to swim _ages _ago, and gone swimming with you on hot summer days…'

'Yes, well,' Galinda chimed in, 'be happy that you found it out _now_, instead of when you're fifty.' She tugged at Elphaba's hand and took Cohvu's as well. 'Come on, let's go and tell Hamold and Lori.'

Elphaba pulled her hand out of her friend's grip. 'I'll go,' she told her friend, raising one eyebrow meaningfully. 'You stay here for a while longer and talk to _Coco_.'

Galinda gulped, but mustered all her courage and nodded bravely. 'Yeah… I'll do that.'

Elphaba laughed and squeezed her hand. 'Good luck.' Then she walked away, leaving the two alone on the beach.


	7. Chapter 7 Apologise

**AN: Um... yeah. Let's just say it will get worse with Fiyero before it gets better... but it gets better at the end of this chapter, and there will be some Fiyeraba fluff coming in the next one! (I think.)**

**Thank you all so much for reviewing, it means a lot to me. Virtual... um... pie? No, you probably wouldn't want that... :P home-baked chocolate chip cookies? ... to all of you.**

**LifeinWatercolor: Oops, my bad. I was originally planning for them to be like, fourteen, fifteen in the previous chapter, but then I realised skipping to them being a bit older right away would be better, so I did, only I forgot to change it :3. I did now, though. Fiyero and Cohvu are eighteen now and Galinda and Elphaba are seventeen. **

* * *

**Chapter 7. Apologise**

After that, the situation with Fiyero didn't get better. In fact, it only got worse.

He kept on 'dancing through life', dating girls and hanging out with his 'friends' from school. He started drinking alcohol and going to parties more and more often, and more than once, he would come home from one of those parties completely drunk. Cohvu had started ignoring him as much as possible, Galinda often got mad at him because of his behaviour whenever she would come to Adurin Iir, and Elphaba tried to act as normal as possible towards him, but she was finding it harder and harder to keep doing so. Hamold and Lori had talked to him about it more than once, but he refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong, and they were starting to grow desperate. By the time he turned eighteen, Lori was about ready to send him to a boarding school.

When Elphaba was sitting in the dining room one Saturday afternoon, sipping her coffee and reading a newspaper, Fiyero came stumbling in, his eyes bloodshot and looking as if he had just rolled out of bed – which probably was the case. He poured himself some coffee and plopped down onto a chair with a grunt.

Elphaba looked up, arching one eyebrow at him. 'Hangover?'

He grumbled something unintelligible in reply.

She rolled her eyes and returned to her newspaper. He watched her for a while, frowning. 'Just say it already,' he finally snapped.

She looked up in surprise. 'Say what?'

'What you want to say.' He glared at her. 'That I look like crap, that I should stop behaving like this, blah blah blah.'

'If you've figured that much out yourself, then why do you need me to say it?' she retorted, and his glare intensified. 'So you _were _going to say it.'

'Actually, I wasn't.' She folded her paper. 'But now that you're bringing it up: you look like crap and you should stop behaving like this.'

'You can't tell me what to do,' he snarled. 'It's not like you're my _mother _or something!'

'Yes, well, you don't listen to _her_, either, do you?'

He snorted. 'You're the worst friend ever.'

'Friend?' She shot him a glare so icy that for a moment, he feared he was going to turn into an ice sculpture. Her voice was calm, though, as she spoke. 'I'm not your friend, Fiyero. Not anymore.'

_That _took him off guard. He blinked. 'What?'

'You have no idea, do you?' she asked him quietly. 'What you're doing to everyone around you. You're alienating the people that love you most, Fiyero. Cohvu has stopped talking to you. Your father is desperate and your mother is devastated because of what you're doing. You're not talking to anyone, all you're doing is getting drunk and kissing blonde airheads and going to parties. Even _Galinda_ is starting to hate your guts, and she's about the most forgiving person you'll ever meet.'

'Yeah, right,' he said in a bored tone of voice, taking another sip of coffee. 'You're just exaggerating, as always. Why can't you all just leave me alone?'

'That's what we've been doing for the past few years!' Elphaba snapped at him. 'But clearly, that didn't have any effect! Why won't you just _listen _to us?'

'Because you're all wrong! My life is _perfect _the way it is, and stop pretending like I'm 'hurting' you guys or something stupid like that. It's not like I'm being _mean _to you or something, I'm just living my own life. I'm allowed to do that, aren't I?'

'Oh, so you don't think calling someone vegetable names because of her skin colour is mean?' Elphaba hissed. 'Or calling your mother an annoying nosey parker? That's all perfectly normal to you?'

He remained silent.

'She _cried_, Fiyero,' the raven-haired girl told him in a low voice. 'She cried about it when you left. You _are _hurting us. All of us.' She shook her head. 'But who cares, right? Nothing matters, always keeping cool, just keep dancing through life, because that's what you do best, isn't it?' She sighed and rose to her feet. 'I don't know why I even bother anymore,' she declared. 'I'm going to go now.'

'Go where?' he demanded, and she shot him another glare. 'For a swim.'

She left the room then, and he frowned, thinking it over a little. Then he realised what she had said and his eyes widened. 'A _swim_? What?' He jumped to his feet and hurried after her. 'Elphaba?'

He ran out onto the beach, just in time to see her approaching the water, ready to dive in. Speeding up, he launched himself in her direction, catching her before she could touch the water and throwing her over his shoulder in one movement.

She pounded her fists on his back. 'Fiyero Hamold Tiggular!' she yelled. 'What in Oz do you think you're doing?!'

'_Me_?' he shouted back, sounding panicked. 'What do _you _think you're doing?!' Without waiting for an answer, he took her inside, stalking into the dining room, where his parents were sitting, talking and sipping their drinks. They looked up when Fiyero and Elphaba entered.

He set her back down on her feet, but kept a firm hold of her arm as he declared in a slightly higher voice than usual, 'Mom, Dad, Elphaba tried to kill herself!'

Lori and Hamold's eyes widened. 'What?'

Elphaba looked just as stunned as they did. '_What_?' she echoed, and Fiyero frowned and looked at her. 'Don't play stupid,' he snapped at her. 'I saw what you were doing! You were trying to jump into the water!'

Slowly, it dawned on her what he was thinking. 'Fiyero,' she began slowly, but he shook his head. 'Don't bother denying it, I saw it!' he shouted.

'Fiyero!' she snapped, yanking her arm free from his grip. 'I'm only allergic to fresh water!'

He gaped at her. 'What?'

Lori looked absolutely stunned. 'Fiyero… you didn't _know_?!'

'You heard me,' Elphaba said to the prince, ignoring Lori for now. 'I was doing exactly what I told you I was going to do – taking a swim. I can touch sea water. Glin and Cohvu taught me how to swim a few months ago.'

His mouth was literally hanging open in shock. 'But…' he spluttered. 'But… how… what… when… When did you find that out?' he demanded, sounding angry.

'Last summer.'

'Summer?' He looked pale now. 'But… but that's almost seven months ago!' he protested, and Elphaba looked at him pointedly. 'Exactly.'

'Elphaba,' Lori said gently. 'Didn't you tell him?'

She shrugged and crossed her arms. 'Why should I?' she wanted to know. 'He doesn't care, anyway.'

'Of course I care!' he protested. 'Fae, you can touch salt water! That's amazing!'

'It's so amazing that you failed to even _notice_ it for the past seven months,' she pointed out sharply.

He had no reply to that.

Hamold looked at his son gravely. 'Yero,' he said. 'You barely even have an idea of what is going on in everyone's lives anymore. You're always either away from home, drunk, or hungover.'

'That's not true!' Fiyero protested hotly. 'I know exactly what's going on in your lives!'

Elphaba stepped up towards him, standing on her tiptoes and moving so close to him that their noses were almost touching. Her eyes were narrowed to dark brown slits, sparking with anger, and she jabbed her finger in his chest. 'Did you know that Glin and Cohvu are dating?'

His eyes widened. 'Wha-'

'That they have been together for almost five months now?'

'Five months? But-'

'Did you realise that it was your parents' wedding anniversary last week?'

He gulped.

'Did you know that Cohvu's little sister got sick with scarlet fever a month or two ago and nearly died? Did you even notice that Cohvu didn't come to the caste for two weeks because he was afraid that he was contagious and that he might give it to us?'

He didn't say anything. They all knew that the answer was no.

Elphaba was shouting now. 'Did you notice that your mother _cried _after you yelled at her the other day? Did you know that your father barely sleeps anymore because he worries so much about you? Did you know that every time you call me an artichoke, or a broccoli, or some other kind of vegetable, I go up to my room and throw things around yelling curses at the top of my lungs because I'm afraid I'm going to do that to _you _if I don't do it to inanimate objects? Did you know all that? Do you even care?'

He still didn't say anything, and that only fuelled her rage. She started gesturing around wildly, not noticing the small, green sparks that were flying back and forth between her fingertips. Neither did the others.

'I don't know why I'm still trying!' she shouted at him. 'You're the meanest, most obnoxious, selfish, brainless, and horrendible _jerk _that everexisted, and I hate you! I hate you, Fiyero Tiggular! I took it all, I tried to convince myself that there was a reason you were behaving this way, that it would pass, that you didn't mean it, but you know what? I think I was wrong. Perhaps this is just who you are. And if that is the case, I don't want to have _anything _to do with you _ever _again!'

She brought her arms down in a wild movement, and the moment she did that, every single fluid in the room suddenly splashed upwards in some kind of fountain. The contents of Lori and Hamold's glasses, but also the water in the few flower vases that were standing in the room, suddenly flew upwards, towards the ceiling.

Elphaba quickly jumped back from the liquid to prevent it from burning her. She blinked and looked up. The Tiggulars were all gaping at Elphaba, and the green girl turned on her heels and stormed out of the room, running through the hallways and up the stairs to her room.

She closed the door behind her and pressed her back against it, breathing hard. She wasn't sure what had just happened, exactly. A rush of… _power _had just surged through her body, and before she knew it, the water had spouted up… but had _she _done that? Because she had gotten so mad? She'd never gotten this angry before in her life.

And the fact that she apparently controlled fluids wasn't even the most important thing that was bothering her. No, for a moment, while she had felt that strange power in her veins, it had felt like she was thrown back into the past. A fleeting memory, nothing more but a feeling that she had experienced this power before, along with a flash of darkness and an echo of screams, but she didn't know what that meant. Was she remembering? Everything that had happened to her before the Tiggulars had found her – was it still somewhere in her head? Could she somehow recall those memories?

She leaned her head back against the wooden door and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she spun around, yanked open the door and ran out into the hallway, making her way towards the front door.

She needed some air.

* * *

When you left Adurin Iir and followed the beach a mile or so towards the north, you would reach a spot where the sandy beach turned into a small, rocky area, housing rocks of all sizes. It was an excellent place to hide – which they had done plenty of times when they were kids – and to climb, even though Elphaba didn't really have a desire to hide or climb right now, that was where she went. She positioned herself on one of the lower rocks, dangling her feet in the water and staring off over the ocean.

After a while, she discovered a sea turtle crawling over the beach not too far away from where she was sitting. She recognised the animal by a mark on its shield, and she smiled. 'Hi, turtle. Long time no see.'

A few years ago, she had been there when this particular turtle – along with its siblings – had hatched. She had watched the small turtles inch along the beach and towards the sea; there was one, with a dark mark on its shield, that had stayed behind a little. It was clearly a bit weaker than the others and it had difficulty making its way towards the water on its own. Elphaba had carefully picked it up and taken it to the sea, watching it swim away. The year afterwards, it had returned, and ever since, it popped up on the beach near the castle every now and then. There were other turtles, of course, but she could recognise this one; and silly as it may be, she often talked to it. It gave her the opportunity to sort out her thoughts without actually having to talk to herself.

The turtle stayed still in the sand, watching her with one eye, and she sighed, hugging her knees to her chest. 'Sometimes I feel like I am a puzzle,' she confessed to the animal.

It tilted its head a little, as if it was listening to her.

'I mean, at some point, I start thinking that I know who I am now. That I know myself, my strengths and my weaknesses, my likes and dislikes… it feels as if I suddenly see the picture the puzzle that is me is supposed to become, and I start putting the pieces together…' She paused. 'And then something happens that makes me realise that I can't finish the puzzle, because certain pieces are missing.' She looked at the turtle. 'Do you understand what I mean?'

It lowered its head and shuffled a bit further towards the rocks.

The green girl rested her chin on her knees. 'I just don't know if I can ever _really _know who I am if I don't know who I _was_,' she said softly. 'I don't know who my family is or how I was raised, I don't know anything about the first six years of my life… and thought sometimes I think I can get over that and move on, there are also times when I feel like the not knowing is holding me back.' She sighed again. 'I just wish I _knew_.'

She splashed some water up with her toes. 'And now those weird… _powers_. What does that mean? That I'm a sorceress or something? A witch? I don't understand a thing about it – and see, there it is again. I'm sure I _would _understand if I only knew more about my past.'

Suddenly, the turtle made a soft hissing sound, and Elphaba looked up. She groaned when she saw Fiyero heading her way. 'Oh, great. The very last person in the world I want to see right now.'

The prince walked up to her, but she didn't even glance at him. Instead, she kept her gaze fixed on the sea turtle as she spoke. 'See, turtle? That's Fiyero Tiggular over there. You know, the boy that _wasn't _there when you hatched.'

Fiyero sighed. 'Fae…'

'He used to love you,' Elphaba told the turtle. 'All of you. But, you see, he's been abandoning everything and everyone that he used to love. Because he wants to be popular or because he's just turned into a jerk, I'm not sure, but it remains a fact that it's just you and me now, buddy.' She leaned down to touch the turtle's shield, petting it. 'Don't worry, though. _I _won't abandon you.'

Fiyero remained silent. Elphaba didn't raise her eyes, still keeping them fixed on the turtle as she addressed Fiyero now. 'I've been watching them hatch by myself for the past few years now.' She looked up, but turned towards the sea, staring at the blue water instead of at him. 'Every time, I hope I'll see you there, that you'll come out and watch them with me, that you'll prove to me that you haven't changed as much as I'm starting to think you have… but you never come.'

He still didn't say anything. Instead, he clambered onto the rocks as well, sitting down next to her, though not uncomfortably close. They were both silent for a while.

'I'm sorry I called you an artichoke,' he finally spoke.

She didn't respond.

'And a broccoli.'

She picked up a small pebble and threw it, making it bounce across the water surface before it sank into the ocean.

'And a wilted cabbage leaf, an asparagus, a grumpy cucumber, a green bean, a turnip, a sour pickle-'

'Alright, I get it!' she snapped, and he shut his mouth. She sighed, running her fingers through her waist-long raven hair. 'Apology accepted.'

He dared giving her a hesitant smile. 'So we're friends again?'

Much to his disappointment, she shook her head. 'It's not that easy, Tiggular. You've been behaving like a prick for _years_. You've hurt us all. You can't make it right with a single apology.' She wrapped her arms tighter around her legs and added softly, 'I'm not even sure you can make it right again at all.'

He sighed, looking – and feeling - guilty. 'Fair enough. But I really _am _sorry,' he added, and for the first time, she looked at him, studying his face, trying to determine if he was serious or not. She noted how little he really had changed in the past years; his sandy hair still a little too long, constantly falling into his face. His sapphire eyes sparkling, though they were sparkling with regret now instead of the regular cheerfulness and mischief. He was still the same Fiyero – on the outside, at least. Could he also still be the same on the inside?

'You're not a vegetable at all,' he said, quietly, but she could see in his eyes that he was sincere. He reached for her hand and, encouraged when she didn't immediately pull away, squeezed it. 'You're beautiful.'

For some incredibly stupid reason, that made her blush.


	8. Chapter 8 To Change His Ways

**AN: I loved your reviews! ^_^ I know you're all looking forward to some fluffy Fiyeraba... well, here it is. It's still friendship-Fiyeraba, though. Or, well, I guess it's part friendship-Fiyeraba and part one-sided Fiyeraba. Still, it's better than Fiyero calling her an asparagus, right?!**

**Musicgal, your review made me laugh so hard. Let me teach you a lesson: don't steal your Mom's cookies. Ever. :P**

**Everyone who thought that Elphaba is some kind of water sorceress... Maybe. I'm not saying anything.**

* * *

**Chapter 8. To change his ways**

For a long while, they didn't say anything. They watched the turtle together as it crawled through the sand for some time before returning to the ocean, disappearing between the waves. Finally, Elphaba broke the silence.

'Why?'

He looked up, slightly startled. She still didn't look at him, but it was clear that she was waiting for a reply.

He sighed, picked up a pebble and tossed it into the water. 'I don't know. I guess I just became self-absorbed and shallow, or something.'

She shook her head. 'You're not self-absorbed and shallow. I know you're not. You might be able to fool yourself, but you can't fool me.' She looked at him now, meeting his eyes. 'Something is going on that's making you behave like this, and I'd like to know what.'

'What business is it of yours, anyway?' he snapped at her, and she narrowed her eyes. 'I've had to put up with you like this for over four years,' she pointed out to him a bit snippily. 'I think 'the sour pickle' has a right to know.'

He reddened slightly. 'Alright,' he muttered under his breath. 'I guess you're right.' He sighed and threw another pebble. 'The problem is that I'm not really sure what the problem is myself. I just… I didn't like my life. Or what's left of it, anyway. I don't feel like I really _have _much of a life.'

She tilted her head a little to the side. 'How come?'

He sighed again. 'Isn't life supposed to be what you make of it?' he said quietly, and she nodded. 'That's what they say, yes.'

'But that implies that you have the freedom to make something of your own life,' he mused.

And suddenly, she understood it all.

'You resent the fact that your entire life is laid out for you,' she said, confident that that was it. 'Am I right?'

His head jerked in her direction and he looked absolutely stunned, convincing her of the fact that she was, indeed, right. 'That's it, isn't it? You can't choose how to live your life, because you're the only heir to the Vinkun throne, and you hate that… and so you decided to dig your hills in and become… well… this.' She made a vague gesture indicating him. 'You feel like once you take the throne, your life – or at least the freedom that you have now – will be over, and so you decided to make the most of that freedom. Why you chose to do that by dating more girls than Galinda has dresses and getting drunk all the time, I will probably never understand… but it's the reason, isn't it? That's why you started dancing through life.'

His continued silence was all the reply she needed.

'I get that, Fiyero,' she said quietly. 'I understand that it's a difficult thing to accept. You don't have a choice, and that must be hard, but this isn't the solution to that problem. If anything, you're only making it worse.'

'How do you do that?' he suddenly demanded, looking up, and she met his eyes, startled. 'What?'

'Reading my mind,' he said. 'You're doing that more often than I care for. It's starting to get a little scary.'

'So I'm a _scary _cucumber now?' she asked sarcastically, and he watched her for a moment. 'That really bothers you, doesn't it?' he said, sounding a bit surprised. 'You never used to care about people calling you names before.'

She sighed and rested her chin back on her knees. 'I didn't,' she admitted. 'I mean, I don't. You know I'm used to people doing it. At school, in town – even your parents' guests usually stare, or make a remark about it. And I don't really care when _they _do it. But _you_… You're my best friend, Fiyero. Or used to be, anyway. And yes, I won't lie to you – that hurt. I never thought _you_ would sink that low. Everyone else, I could understand – they don't know me, they only see my skin… but you? The one person that I thought would _never _do something like that?' She looked him in the eyes for a brief moment, and he saw all the emotions in there that she usually so carefully hid away. Then she averted her eyes again, watching a few birds soaring through the sky. 'Yes, that bothers me.'

'I really am sorry.'

'I should hope so.' She rose to her feet, looking down at him. 'I hope you mean it,' she said. 'And I hope you're going to act like you mean it, because otherwise you're going to lose us all.'

With that, she left back for the castle, leaving him behind to ponder on her words.

* * *

'Mom?'

Lori turned from where she had been making herself a cup of tea at the kitchen counter to watch Fiyero walking in, an expression on his face that she couldn't quite place. 'Yes, Fiyero?'

He lowered himself onto a chair, watching her as she moved around the kitchen. They had servants, of course, but Lori – and Hamold, too – preferred to do the little things herself; she found it nonsense to ask a servant to make her some tea when she was perfectly capable of doing so herself.

'I just talked to Elphaba,' he said.

Lori cast a brief glance in his direction before focusing on her tea again, pouring hot water in her cup. 'Did you call her any kind of vegetable during that talk?'

He looked indignant. '_No_,' he said defensively, but he deflated a little when he realised how horrendible he really had been towards his friends and family. He sighed and buried his head in his arms.

'Then do continue.' Lori placed her cup on the table, setting another one down in front of her son and looking at him expectantly. 'What did you two talk about?'

'Sea turtles,' he muttered, his voice muffled by the fact that he was still covering his face with his arms. 'Vegetables. Freedom. Mindreading. Jerks.'

Lori raised one eyebrow, sipping her tea. 'That sounds like an interesting conversation,' she said drily. 'Would you care to explain?'

He flashed her a faint grin. 'Yeah, well…' He paused. 'I guess I just…' He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, before blurting out, 'I really _am _a jerk, aren't I?'

'You're my son,' Lori said calmly. 'I would hardly ever call you a jerk.'

'But you think I am, right?' When she didn't reply right away, he added, 'You can say it. It's not like it isn't true.'

She was stunned. He could see that, even though she tried to hide it. 'Huh,' she muttered. 'That really _was _an interesting conversation.'

He leaned his chin back on his arms. 'It was.' He looked up to meet her eyes. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'About everything. For making you cry, most of all. I never meant to do that.'

Now she had tears in her eyes, and she rose to her feet and moved around the table to pull him into a hug. 'I knew it,' she said. 'I knew the old Yero was still somewhere in there.'

He grimaced. 'Was I really that bad?'

She pulled away to look at him. 'Yes,' she told him bluntly. 'Yes, you were.' She hugged him again, but he pulled away, taking a deep breath. 'Mom?'

Lori looked at him inquiringly, and he sighed.

'We need to talk.'

* * *

Elphaba barely saw him during the next few weeks – they were all preparing for finals, which were coming up in a couple of months, and Elphaba usually locked herself in the library or her room to study. When spring came, however, she abandoned her tight schedule of going to bed early in order to rise just as early, making the most of her time; instead, she sneaked out of her room and out of the castle in the middle of the night, heading for the beach. She found herself a comfortable spot and spread out a blanket, before lying down on it on her stomach, pulling a second blanket tight around her shoulders, and waiting.

Before long, she heard a sound, but it didn't sound like a turtle at all. She looked up, only to find Fiyero approaching her. Without saying anything, he sat down on the blanket next to her, a flask filled with hot chocolate in his hand. With a pang, she remembered how they always used to share such a flask whenever they came out here at night.

'What are you doing here?' she asked, though it came out a bit sharper than she had intended.

He took a sip from the flask and made himself comfortable next to her, looking down at her for a moment, sapphire eyes sparkling. 'What do you mean, what am I doing here?' he asked, grinning his lopsided grin. 'Did you really think I was going to miss the turtle's nesting season?'

She looked up at him, her eyes huge and almost black in the moonlight. She searched his face; when she realised he was being sincere, she let out a soft, strangled cry and threw her arms around his neck. 'I love you!' she blurted out.

Immediately, she pulled back, clasping both hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. 'That's not what I meant!'

He was looking as if he was trying his hardest to stifle his laughter. 'I know, Fae.'

'No, seriously not!' she tried desperately. 'I'm just happy that you're _you _again, but, I mean, I don't _love _you… you know?'

He chuckled. 'I know. It's okay, Fae. I get it.'

She let out a breath. 'Okay.' She took the flask from him and gulped down some of the hot chocolate, immediately almost choking on it because it was exactly that – _hot _chocolate.

Finally, she regained her composure, and she cleared her throat awkwardly. 'Anyway…' Then she remembered what they had been talking about and she beamed at him. 'Seriously, though… this is amazing, Yero.'

He sighed. 'Yeah…' he said. 'I talked to my Mom, and my Dad… multiple times, actually.' He moved to lie down on his stomach, mirroring her earlier position, and she followed his example. 'I told them everything,' he said quietly. 'About… what you said. Why I did it.'

When he didn't say anything else, she prodded, 'And what did they say?'

He sighed again. 'They understood, of course, but…' Yet another sigh. 'I can't really get out of it. The whole heir-to-the-Vinkun-throne-thing, I mean.'

She inched a little closer and laid her hand on his arm. 'Maybe you don't have to,' she said quietly. 'Fiyero, you're not King yet. You can still do so many things before that time. And even when you _are _King, you're going to have advisors, servants, everyone is going to be at your beck and call… I'm sure you could find someone to temporarily take over whenever you'd need a break from it. You could still make all those trips you were dreaming about. You can still train to be a Gale Force soldier, if that's what you want. You can go off to college and do whatever you like – unless it's dancing through life,' she warned him, and he laughed. 'I won't. I promise.'

She smiled at him, causing her dimples to show. He hadn't realised how much he had missed that smile until now.

'I talked to Cohvu, too,' he said. 'I apologised to him, and we talked for a long time. We're friends again.'

She squeezed his arm. 'Good for you.'

'Actually, I think _his _reaction was the funniest of all,' Fiyero mused. 'When he realised I was being serious, you know, about changing and apologising and wanting to make things right again, and stuff… and I think he only _really _believed I was serious after he made me throw my tight white pants into the fire in the fireplace…'

'Thank Oz,' Elphaba muttered under her breath. 'I _loathed _those pants.'

He flashed her a smile. 'Well, they're gone. All fourteen pairs of them.'

She rolled her eyes. 'You're worse than Galinda when it comes to clothes.'

'_Was_,' he corrected her. 'I _was _worse than Galinda. Trust me, no more tight pants for me. They were uncomfortable. Besides, they weren't even _that _awesome.' He shook his head. 'But, anyway, when Cohvu realised that I was serious, he fell down upon his knees and started crying exaggeratedly, 'Hallelujah! Praise the Unnamed God!''

Elphaba laughed. She could imagine her friend doing that.

'And then my father,' Fiyero continued, 'he said, 'Don't thank the Unnamed God, thank Elphaba'. And then Cohvu started singing, 'Hallelujah! Praise the Almighty Emerald One!' I think he ran off to build you a statue somewhere.'

She laughed again – Oz, he loved that sound. He had heard it way too little in the past years, and he felt ashamed again when he thought of what had caused it. He really _had _been behaving like an idiot.

She hugged him again briefly. 'Welcome back, Yero.'

From the corners of his eyes, he saw a turtle crawling up onto the beach, and he smiled. 'It's good to be back.'

* * *

Quite a few turtles came to the beach to nest that night. Elphaba knew that there were many, many more turtles that had already laid their eggs in one of the previous nights, or that would lay eggs in the nights after this one; in the Vinkus, nesting season lasted about a week, and turtles ventured out onto the beach almost every night during that period.

Fiyero and she watched it all quietly. They shared the flask of hot chocolate and they talked softly every once in a while, but mostly, they just sat still, watching the turtles and enjoying each other's company. Elphaba was lying on her stomach again, wobbling her feet in the air, and Fiyero grabbed one and tried to tickle it, but she pulled away with an indignant squeal. 'Fiyero!'

He grinned at her. She sat up and swatted at his chest. 'What in Oz are you doing?' she demanded. 'You were never the cuddly kind.'

His grin widened. 'Yes, well, I have to make up for the past few years.'

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. 'True.' Then she smirked and started tickling his sides, making him squirm. He toppled over, begging for her to stop.

She leaned over him, her dark eyes sparkling. 'Say the magic word.'

He looked back at her for a moment, mesmerised by her face and the feel of her long hair falling down to tickle his cheek. 'Turtle?'

'Wrong magic word!' she chided him, and immediately punished him for it by starting to tickle him again. 'No!' he cried, trying to scramble away from her. She clamped her hand over his mouth. 'Shut up, you're scaring the turtles.'

He made a muffled sound and she removed her hand. 'So what's the magic word?'

'Please,' he gasped, and she pulled back. 'Good enough.'

He took a moment to catch his breath, then looked up at her. She was watching the turtles again, a soft look in her eyes and a smile playing around her lips. He blinked for a moment. In the moonlight, she looked like a mythical creature – the mermaid or siren he had mistaken her for when he had first found her, perhaps.

She looked at him when she felt her eyes on him. 'What?' she asked with a small, nervous laugh, and he shook his head and averted his eyes. 'Nothing.'

She kept looking at him for another while, trying to find out what he was thinking, undoubtedly, but he avoided her eyes, looking at the sea turtles instead. He yawned. 'We should probably head back.'

'Just a while longer,' she whispered, gaze fixed on the turtles as well. They were slowly, one by one, starting to retreat into the sea, and she smiled at the sight. 'We'll be back in two months, guys,' she whispered to the animals. 'To see your babies hatch.'

Fiyero smiled. 'We most certainly will.'

She looked back at him again, her eyes unreadable, but her face soft. 'I'm really glad you're back, Yero.'

'I probably should have realised what I was doing years before,' he admitted. 'And I guess I did, on some level. I just didn't want to see it, you know… that I was hurting everyone around me by acting like a jerk. All I wanted was to prove to everyone that I could do whatever I wanted to do.'

'Well, you did.' She sighed and let herself fall back onto the blanket, staring up at the stars.

'You yelling at me certainly helped.' His face fell a little. 'And you telling me you hated me.'

'I don't hate you,' she said. She looked at him. 'I hated who you had become.'

He went to lie down next to her. 'I really am sorry.'

'I know,' she said. 'It's okay. I get it. Just promise me you'll never do it again.'

He laughed softly. 'I guess I can promise that.'

'Good.' She yawned, quickly covering her mouth with her hand, and Fiyero chuckled. '_Now _do you want to go back?'

She shook her head. 'Not yet.'

They lapsed into silence again as they turned their attention back to the turtles.

* * *

The next thing he knew, his eyes slowly blinked open and he had to squint against the sunlight.

Wait. Sunlight?

His eyes widened when he realised that they must have fallen asleep. It was morning. He moved to push himself up, cursing under his breath. His parents would be worried sick if they found out he and Elphaba had been gone all night.

The moment he moved, however, he became aware of a soft weight on his chest. He blinked again and looked down, only to find Elphaba there. She had snuggled closer to him in her sleep, resting her head on his chest as if he were a pillow. She was still asleep and he stilled his movements, not wanting to wake her.

He took the opportunity to study her, now that he was sure she wouldn't snap at him for doing so. He hadn't taken the time to look at her – _really _look at her – in years now, and he was stunned by the changes in her. With a pang, he realised that _so much_ had changed while he had been so busy dancing through life. Not just Elphaba; he had noticed the changes in Cohvu, too, and he was sure that he would see them in Galinda when she would come over. He had missed so much.

He thought of all the things that had happened to Cohvu, things his friend had needed his support for. His grandfather dying, his little sister getting sick… and all the while, Fiyero had been right there, but not really _there_ – all he had been thinking about was how to stay popular, what new pants he was going to buy, which girl would be his next girlfriend. He had never felt so ashamed before in his life.

He looked down at Elphaba again. The early sunlight seemed to illuminate her emerald skin, making it glow. He reached out to brush a strand of hair from her face. She murmured something in her sleep, stirring slightly, but she didn't wake up.

Again, he started wondering, watching her closely, taking in her every feature. How could he not have noticed how much more mature she was? How she looked like a young woman now, instead of the girl she once was? That her hair had become longer and curlier over the years, her lips fuller, her dimples even more noticeable? How could he not have noticed how beautiful she had become?

How could he not have noticed before that he was absolutely, completely, hopelessly in love with her?


	9. Chapter 9 Love Is In The Air

**AN: This afternoon, when I was riding my scooter back from uni, I was surprised by a downpour. I was drenched. Like, even my _underwear_ was soaked. And the stupid part was that the moment it started raining, my first thought was of Elphaba in this story and how she would be dead if she were me. Yeah, I should probably spend just a little less time on this website :P.**

**Anyway, hank you all so much for your lovely reviews, you made my day! :) And if you get the time, please tell me your favourite lines - I love to hear them!**

**Musicgal... I think you just broke your own 'AWW'-record. LOL :D.**

**And a cliffy, because it's been a while since my last, and because I can.**

* * *

**Chapter 9. Love is in the air**

'Fifi!' A loud squeal and then two arms being thrown around him, nearly knocking him over. Galinda hugged him tightly, then swatted at his arm. 'What in Oz were you thinking all this time?' she demanded in a high-pitched voice.

'I wasn't,' he admitted immediately. 'But I'm changing now, Glin. I swear.'

Galinda looked at Cohvu and Elphaba first to verify that, and when they both nodded, smiling, she squealed again. 'Thank goodness!' Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she glared at the prince.

He blinked back at her, taken aback by the pissed look in her blue eyes. 'What?'

She continued to glare at him. Then she raised her hand and slapped him in the face.

'Galinda!' Elphaba cried, horrified, and Fiyero gasped. 'Hey!' he protested. 'What was _that _for!'

'That's for being mean to my best friend,' Galinda declared haughtily. Then she stomped his arm – hard – making him yelp. 'And for hurting my boyfriend.' _Smack_. 'Your father.' _Bang. _'Your mother.' _Whack_. 'And me-'

'Galinda!' Cohvu grabbed his girlfriend around her waist from behind, gently pulling her away from Fiyero. 'I think he gets the message.'

Fiyero glared back at the blonde, rubbing the spots where she had hit him. 'Good to see you, too, Glin.'

She smiled sweetly at him. 'Yes, it is good to see you.' She looked around again, beaming. 'It's good to see all of you!' she then exclaimed, hugging Elphaba, then Cohvu, then Fiyero again. 'I've missed you guys so much!' She gasped and clasped her hands together in delight. 'We should get out of this castle and do something fun!'

Immediately, Elphaba scrambled away from her friend, hiding behind Cohvu. 'No shopping,' she pleaded. 'Please, Galinda, anything but shopping!'

The boys laughed and Galinda huffed, crossing her arms. 'Fine,' she said grumpily. 'We won't go shopping. But we're going to do something else,' she warned them. 'And _I _get to pick what, and you're going to like it, whether you like it or not.'

Elphaba quirked an eyebrow at her and Cohvu chuckled, pulling the blonde into his arms. 'You're kind of contradicting yourself there, darling.'

Now she sent _him _a death glare and he gulped. 'So, yes, okay. Let's go do something!' he said cheerfully, and Galinda immediately became her bubbly, bouncy self again. 'Yay!'

They all looked at the petite blonde expectantly. Galinda tapped her chin and started pacing around the room. 'Alright, let's see. We could go and get beauty treatments…'

'No!' the three others yelled in unison, and the blonde rolled her eyes. 'Alright, fine, relax. Um… Ooh!' Her face brightened. 'We could go to that new pool they opened in the city! It's only a fifteen-minute carriage drive!'

'Yeah!' Fiyero agreed enthusiastically. The other two stared at them in exasperation. Cohvu waved a hand up and down, indicating Elphaba. 'Swimming? In a _pool_?'

Both Galinda and Fiyero just blinked at him, still not understanding.

'Fresh water?' Elphaba helped them. 'Or do you _want _to see me change into a sizzling green puddle?'

Now their eyes widened. 'Oh,' Galinda said sheepishly. 'Sorry. I hadn't really thought about that.'

Fiyero looked embarrassed. 'Me, neither,' he confessed, and Cohvu chuckled. 'It's clear that his change of attitude didn't change anything about his being brainless.'

Elphaba reached out and patted Fiyero's head, as if he were a dog. 'Don't worry, Fifi,' she cooed, smirking. 'Just keep practising, and you might even grow a brain someday!'

He shot her a look, but kept quiet. He was smiling, however, and Elphaba blushed a little when she saw that he was still looking at her. 'What?'

He shook his head. 'Nothing.'

Galinda stood on her tiptoes to whisper in Cohvu's ear, 'Oh my Oz, they are _so _in love.'

Cohvu chuckled. 'Yes, well, don't say anything. I don't think they've figured it out for themselves yet.'

'How can you not notice _this_?' Galinda demanded. 'Come on. A boy never looks at a girl liked that unless he's totally into her. And Elphie doesn't blush. _Ever_.' She sighed happily. 'This is _so _romantic. You know, her getting mad at him, him changing for her, them falling in love…' She squealed softly. 'It's like a story from a book!'

Cohvu looked at her, one eyebrow raised. 'You read books?'

'Only romance stories,' she assured him, and he chuckled. 'Makes sense.'

Suddenly, Galinda squealed again. 'Oh, guys!' she said enthusiastically, waving her hands around in wild gestures. 'We can't go to the pool, but we can go swim in the sea!'

'You can go to the pool, if you want to,' offered Elphaba. 'I'll just stay here.'

Galinda, however, shook her head firmly. 'No way, Elphie,' she declared. 'We'll just go to the beach. Then we can _all _swim.'

'You know?' Fiyero said to Elphaba. 'I still haven't seen you swim.'

She stuck out her tongue. 'That's because last time I tried to swim when you were there, you plucked me off the beach and threw me over your shoulder, convinced that I was trying to kill myself.'

He reddened and cleared his throat awkwardly. 'Yes, well…'

'Okay!' Galinda interrupted them. 'Let's go get changed and get some towels, and oh, I'll ask one of the maids to make us a picnic basket! And then we can set out to the beach. Yes? Okay, let's go!'

* * *

'Are you _really _sure you can touch salt water?' Fiyero asked for what must have been the fourth time.

Elphaba quirked an eyebrow at him. 'Would I jump into the ocean if I wasn't sure?'

He sighed, still not convinced, but he figured she had a point. He wouldn't be reassured unless he saw it for himself, however. 'Alright, fine. Show me.'

She grinned at him, then jumped into the water. He held his hand above his eyes to protect them against the sun, squinting a little. He saw her disappear under the water; then she came back up, splashing around. 'Ahh! It burns! I'm melting!'

Galinda giggled and Cohvu snickered softly, but Fiyero immediately panicked again. 'Elphaba!' He jumped into the water after her, making Galinda and Cohvu laugh even harder. 'He's so brainless!' Galinda shrieked, kicking her feet with laughter.

Fiyero caught Elphaba around the waist, pulling her out of the water. She was twitching and his heart skipped a beat - for a moment, he thought that she was dying or something… but then he realised she was twitching with laughter.

'I can't believe you bought that!' she roared, trying to catch her breath and almost succeeding; but when she saw Fiyero's face, she dissolved into laughter once again.

'Oh, you think that's funny, do you?' he grunted. He dropped her, and with a surprised cry, she fell down into the water again.

When she surfaced, he was glaring down at her. 'You're mean.'

She laughed. 'I know.' Then she grabbed his leg and pulled it, causing him to topple over into the water as well.

Galinda smirked and cuddled closer to Cohvu. 'They're so cute together!' She gasped when an idea hit her. 'Oh my Oz, we should play matchmaker!'

'Glin,' he warned her softly. 'Don't meddle with their affairs, please. If they like each other, they can figure it out themselves.'

Galinda sighed and huffed. '_No_, they can't. Elphie is too stubborn to believe that _anyone _could like her in that way, and Fiyero would never make a move because he'd be afraid to scare Elphie away – and he would be right, too.'

'So you think Yero wouldn't make a move?' Cohvu asked. Galinda shook her head. 'If he has something that even remotely resembles a brain, he wouldn't.'

'There's one flaw in your reasoning, Galinda.'

She looked at him. 'What's that?'

Cohvu pointed towards the prince and the green girl in the water. 'He _doesn't _have a brain.'

Elphaba and Fiyero had been playing around in the water for some time, but apparently, he had caught her, because they had stilled their movements. Elphaba was still smiling, but that smile faded and a blush crept up her cheeks when she looked at Fiyero and saw the intense gaze in his sapphire blue eyes.

'He's going to kiss her,' Galinda whispered. 'I know he is.'

Cohvu shook his head. 'He's not _that_ brainless,' he declared. 'He wouldn't… would he?' he added, suddenly not so sure anymore.

Galinda kept her gaze fixed on her friends, not wanting to miss a thing, but she held out her hand to Cohvu. 'If he tries to kiss her, you let me pick what we're going to do on our date next Friday,' she whispered. 'If he doesn't, you can decide. Deal?'

He shook her hand. 'Deal.'

They both watched intently as Fiyero raised his hand, seemingly to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, but then he shook his head and dropped his hand again. He held out his hand to Elphaba, who looked kind of nervous; but then he said something that made her laugh and she visibly relaxed. She took his hand and they walked back to the beach together.

Galinda swore softly under her breath and Cohvu smirked at her. 'A deal's a deal, darling.'

'I know,' she grumbled. Then she sighed. 'So where are we going?'

Cohvu tapped his chin thoughtfully. 'I was thinking a football game… Or perhaps we could just stay at home and relax on the couch with beer and a bag of potato chips!'

His girlfriend shoved him. 'You're such a man!'

He laughed and kissed her nose. 'I know just the thing,' he said cheerfully. 'There's a fun fair in the village nearby this weekend.'

At that, Galinda immediately brightened. 'Will you win me a stuffed animal?' she begged him, and he laughed again, cupping her cheek. 'Sure. Anything for you.'

'You are so romantic!' the blonde declared with a squeal, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. Elphaba plopped down onto the towel next to her friends, trying to dry her hair. 'Would you guys get a room?'

Galinda stuck out her tongue, letting go of her boyfriend. 'Hey, Fiyero,' she said as the prince joined them as well. 'Is it true that there's going to be a party next week?'

He sighed and rolled his eyes. 'Yes, but it's an official thing,' he said, clearly not very happy about that. 'My parents are hosting this ball or something for some important dudes.'

Cohvu stifled a laugh. 'What kind of 'important dudes'?' he asked, amused. Elphaba sniggered.

'Oh, you know.' Fiyero fell back onto the towel. 'Galinda's parents, who are already here, but also the Duke of Gillikin, the Governor of Munchkinland… some officials from the Vinkus.' He shrugged. 'Most of them will arrive in the next few days, and stay here for a couple of days.'

'The Governor of Munchkinland…' Elphaba mused. 'Have I met him before?'

Fiyero shook his head. 'Probably not. Apparently, he's kind of a hermit. He never really goes to banquets or meetings or anything, he always stays inside his mansion with his crippled daughter. He's going to bring her to the ball now, though.'

'Momsie and Popsicle have gone shopping today,' Galinda informed them. 'To get themselves some new outfits for the ball. They were really looking forward to it.'

'Will more of those people bring their children?' asked Cohvu. 'Are there any kids our age?'

Fiyero cocked his head. 'The Governor's daughter is about fifteen, from what I understand,' he said. 'And Avaric Tenmeadows will be there, too.'

Elphaba immediately bristled. '_Please _tell me you're joking!' she hissed. 'I can't _stand _that obnoxious-'

Fiyero quickly clamped his hand over her mouth. 'We get the point,' he said quickly. 'But yes, he's coming.'

'Who is he?' Galinda asked, puzzled, and Elphaba yanked Fiyero's hand away from her face. 'He's one of Fiyero's 'dancing-through-life'-friends,' she said. 'He lives kind of nearby, and he goes to our school. You're never going to meet anyone more irritating in your life.'

Galinda tilted her head. 'Is he cute?'

Elphaba gave her a look. 'No.'

'Well…' Fiyero said, and now she gave _him_ a look. He held up his hands in defeat. 'Hey, I'm just saying. Not that I'm into guys or anything, but you can't really call Avaric ugly.'

Elphaba glared at him. 'Fine. He's not ugly. But he's still obnoxious and a total jerk,' she declared firmly. 'Even more so than you were.'

* * *

That that was true, was proven to them several days later, when Elphaba found herself hanging above the pond in the gardens.

She wasn't even sure how he had gotten a hold on her in the first place. She had ventured out into the gardens; it had been a beautiful day and she had decided to study outside for a little while. Before she knew it, Avaric had shown up, taunted her with annoying remarks for a while, and then he had lifted her off her feet and taken her over to the pond. She had fought, but she hadn't stood a chance against him – he was twice as broad and muscular as she was and he was at least a head taller.

Right now, he was holding her by the fabric of her dress, dangling her half a meter or so above the deadly water. She swallowed as she looked right down into it. She wasn't someone that could be scared very easily, but right now, she wasn't afraid to admit that she was. Avaric didn't know that she really had a water allergy, and she knew that it was a realistic possibility for him to just drop her.

Avaric, who was holding her, smirked at her. 'What's up, little green bean? Already scared?'

She squirmed in an attempt to get free, but to no avail. 'I'm not _afraid _of water, you stupid pighead!' she screamed, trying desperately to get through to him. 'I'm _allergic _to it! I'll die if you drop me now!'

'Somehow, I have trouble believing that.' He dropped her a few inches, causing her to yelp in fear, and his grin only broadened. 'No one is allergic to water, green bean. It's not possible. So would you stop whining already? It's just water.'

'Avaric!' She never thought she would be begging him someday, but she didn't really have another choice. '_Please_. I'll do anything, just don't drop me!'

He cackled. 'Now that I like to hear,' he chuckled. 'But I'm bored, and it's fun to watch you squirm like this, so… no, I don't really feel like putting you down.'

She gritted her teeth. Oz, she wanted to kill him right now.

Avaric and Elphaba had a history together. He had been her worst tormenter when she was younger, and still he took every opportunity to bully her somehow. She had soon learned how to stand up for herself, however – within weeks from her first day at school, when she had realised that the other children wouldn't stop making remarks about her skin until she _made _them stop – which had resulted in rather regular clashes between the two of them. Sometimes it was just a verbal fight, but there had been multiple times, too, when one of them had lost their temper and they had both ended up in detention for it.

She thought it was safe to say that she hated him. She wasn't a very hateful person, but she absolutely _loathed _Avaric Tenmeadows, and right now he wasn't making things any better.

'Avaric!' a high-pitched squeal suddenly sounded through the gardens. Galinda came running towards them – a pretty impressive sight, given the fact that she was wearing six inch high heels – with Cohvu and Fiyero right behind her. Elphaba let out a sigh with relief. Surely he would put her down _now_, wouldn't he?

Cohvu grunted when he saw them. 'I knew you were up to something the moment I saw you sneaking into the gardens,' he hissed at Avaric. 'Put her down!'

The other boy just laughed. 'Like this?'

He dropped her a few more inches and she sucked in her breath. Galinda shrieked and Cohvu's face turned red. 'Avaric…'

'I'm bored,' he declared again. 'And that's her fault.' He nodded towards Elphaba. 'If she hadn't made Fiyero start to _think _again, I would be out there right now, having fun with him and a couple of girls. But since he's gotten all boring now, and there's no one interesting around here, I figured I should search my amusement elsewhere.' He grinned down at the dark-haired girl he was holding.

'You are such an idiot!' Galinda screeched, running up towards him and pounding her fists on his back. 'Put her down!'

'Let me think about that.' Avaric cocked his head thoughtfully. 'Um… No.' He looked down at the green girl, grinning broadly. 'Say goodbye, green bean.'

Elphaba's eyes widened and Galinda gasped. 'Avaric, no!' she cried, but he ignored her. Instead, he smirked at Elphaba…

…and he let go.


	10. Chapter 10 For The First Time

**AN: Sorry for the long wait, but here it is! :)**

**Fae Tiggular: I loved your threat xD.**

**Musicgal: Yours too. "I demand an update"... How dare you talk to your Queen like that? :O**

**Watercolor: I noticed it, too :D. It's funny.**

**Artsoccer: Musicgal still holds the 'aww'-record, but you broke the 'no'-one :P. Ánd you were my 100th reviewer! :D Thank you so much, virtual chocolate (or anything you like) for you!**

**Fae the Queen: I updated. NOW YOU UPDATE.**

**Most of you said that either Elphaba's magic will save her, or that Fiyero will, and of course you were right. Come on, if I'm going to kill Elphaba, I'm _not _going to do it by having Avaric, of all people, throwing her into a _pond_! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 10. For the first time**

The only thing that saved Elphaba's life, was the fact that Fiyero was close enough to her to lunge forward and catch her.

Now, whenever Galinda had read somewhere in a book that a prince had caught a girl in his arms, thus saving her life, she had always imagined it to be very graceful and very romantic. That wasn't really the case. Fiyero caught Elphaba, but then he stumbled and lost his balance; he was just able to practically throw her off of him and into the grass before he toppled into the pond himself.

Elphaba just lay in the grass for a moment, gasping, trying to wrap her mind around what happened and catch her breath. Galinda immediately kneeled down next to her. 'Elphie, are you okay?' she asked worriedly.

The green girl nodded faintly. 'Yeah, I'm fine.'

Cohvu, in the meantime, had launched himself at Avaric. One well-aimed punch gave the other boy a pretty impressive bruise on his jaw; a second blow effectively broke his nose. 'You Oz-forsaken _idiot_!' Cohvu roared – neither of the girls could remember ever seeing him this angry. 'You almost killed her!'

'You… You mean it's true?' gasped Avaric, pressing his hand against his nose in a fruitless attempt to stop the bleeding. 'That she's allergic to water?'

'Of course it's true!' Cohvu seemed about to explode. Avaric recoiled a little. 'I don't believe you.'

Now Galinda had to hurry over to her boyfriend to keep him from attacking the other boy again. 'Coco,' she said sternly. 'Listen to me. She's safe, okay? Elphie's safe. Nothing happened. Don't kill him.'

'Why not?' Cohvru growled. 'He deserves it!'

'He does,' Galinda agreed immediately, 'but, you see, then you'd probably end up in jail for a couple of years and I can't miss my boyfriend for that long.'

He gave her a look.

'Just calm down, Coco.' She linked her arm with his and squeezed his hand, which seemed to calm him down. A little.

If he were so protective of any other girl, Galinda might have been jealous; but she knew how deep Cohvu and Elphaba's friendship went. Especially after Fiyero had started dancing through life, and Galinda herself had gone back to Gillikin, the two had grown closer together – but she knew there were no romantic feelings involved. They were more like brother and sister… and she was convinced that Cohvu would react the same way if it were Galinda herself who had been allergic to water and nearly thrown into a pond by an arrogant, obnoxious ass. Just because he cared about Elphaba, that didn't mean he didn't care about his girlfriend, she knew. On the contrary.

Fiyero, in the meanwhile, had crawled out of the water, slightly out of breath; and Elphaba glared at Avaric. 'You want some proof?' She rose to her feet and stomped over to where Fiyero was standing.

He immediately recoiled. 'Fae, don't come near me, I'm wet-'

'That's exactly the point.' She pressed her arm against his, hissing softly as the water burned her skin. Then she held out her arm for Avaric to see. The skin had gone red and small blisters were already forming. '_Now _do you believe me?'

His face suddenly looked a few shades paler than the rest of his skin. 'But… b-but…' He swallowed. 'So… so if I had dropped you into the pond…'

She looked at him. 'I told you. I would have been dead right now.'

Galinda let out a soft squeal and wrapped her arms around her friend. Avaric looked about ready to faint. 'I… I only wanted to pull a _prank _on you,' he protested weakly. 'Not… not…'

'Yes, well, you almost did,' snarled Galinda, stepping in front of Elphaba and placing her hands on her hips. She looked pretty impressive for a petite blonde powder puff that was two heads smaller than Avaric was. 'So why don't you get out of here, Avaric, and leave us alone, or I'm going to let my Coco murder you!'

Normally, Avaric would have made a sneering remark about her nickname for Cohvu; but just one look at Cohvu's face convinced him of the fact that Galinda wasn't really joking about her boyfriend wanting to murder him. So he swallowed any jokes, nodded faintly, and quite literally ran off.

Cohvu looked at Elphaba, his eyes dark with concern. 'Are you sure you're alright?' he asked her, and she nodded and flashed him a small smile. 'I'm fine, Cohvu. Really.' She looked at Fiyero. 'Thank you,' she said softly. 'You saved my life.'

He gave her a lopsided grin. 'Yes, well, that's what princes do, right?' he said jokingly. 'Saving princesses.'

Normally, she would have snorted upon him calling her a princess, but now she was far too happy that she was still alive to be sarcastic. She just smiled at him, enchanting him with those dimples once again.

He returned the smile. 'You're welcome. Couldn't very well let you die, now could I?' The truth was that his heart was still pounding in his chest. He didn't think he had ever been more scared in his life than when he had seen Avaric dropping Elphaba – except perhaps for the time when he had thought that she was killing herself by jumping into the ocean.

Galinda grabbed Elphaba's arm, shaking her head as she studied it. 'Why did you do that?' she demanded, indicating the burn marks on the skin. 'You didn't have to prove anything to him!'

'Perhaps not,' said Elphaba, pulling her arm back. 'But if I didn't prove it to him, I don't think he would have believed it, and that would mean he would try to do something like this again. Now at least he knows I was telling the truth.'

Galinda sighed. 'I suppose that's true,' she complied. She rose to her feet and pulled Elphaba up, as well. 'I'm going to take care of Elphie's burns. Fifi, I'm sure Elphie wants to hug you now to thank you for saving her life, but since that would give her burn marks all over, I suggest you change into something dry first.' She winked at him suggestively. He didn't seem to understand. That was okay.

She would trick him into making a move towards Elphie later.

When he came into the library later, having showered and put on dry clothes, he found his parents there. They were sitting by the fireplace, talking quietly; however, when they heard him enter, they both looked up.

'Elphaba told us what happened,' said Hamold, rising to his feet and enveloping his son in a hug for a moment before clapping his shoulder. 'I'm proud of you, Yero.'

Lori smiled at him. 'So am I.'

He waved them both away. 'It's what anyone would have done,' he said modestly, but Hamold shook his head. 'I don't think so.' His bright blue eyes were piercing as he looked at his son again. 'I think dancing-through-life-Fiyero wouldn't even have _noticed _Elphaba being dropped into the pond, let alone trying to save her.'

The prince bit his lip, but didn't say anything. It was true, after all, and he felt utterly ashamed of himself once again. What had he been thinking?

Just then, Elphaba emerged from behind a bookshelf. When she saw him, her face broke into a smile. She put the pile of books she was carrying on a side table, then broke into a run and pretty much jumped him, flinging her arms around his neck. 'Thank you so much,' she whispered. 'Without you I would be dead right now.'

He was a bit bewildered at first, but then a goofy grin spread across his face and he wrapped his arms around her. 'Anytime, Fae.'

He quickly let go, however, once he noticed the amused, almost smug, expressions on his parents' faces. He scowled at them, but they just smiled innocently at him in return.

He sat down on the couch and Elphaba curled up next to him, one of her books in her lap, the other ones in a pile on the arm of the couch. Fiyero looked at his parents. 'Where did Avaric go?'

'His father found out what happened,' said Hamold. 'He was absolutely furious. They left – he apologised to us for leaving before the ball, but he didn't want to take the risk of Avaric pulling another 'prank' on one of you.'

'I don't think he would have,' Fiyero declared. 'Cohvu and his fist made quite the impression on him.'

Lori laughed. Elphaba looked up from her book, screwing up her nose in thought. 'I don't think it was Cohvu,' she said slowly. 'I think he was genuinely upset at the thought of killing me. Like he said – he wanted to pull a prank, to annoy me, not actually _murder _me.'

'But he would have!' Fiyero protested, immediately getting himself worked up again. Elphaba placed a hand on his arm. 'Yero. Calm down. He didn't kill me, okay? I'm fine. Let it go.'

He looked at her. She was wearing her reading glasses – she'd gotten them when she was about sixteen, and though Galinda insisted they made her look dreary and Elphaba herself wasn't too fond of them, either, Fiyero liked them. They made her look even smarter than she already did.

He sighed. 'Fine.'

She squeezed his arm, then shifted her attention back to her book, completely missing the meaningful look that passed between Fiyero's parents.

* * *

_She pushed him under the water. 'Ha! Now I've got you!'_

_She was smirking when he came back up, and he splashed sea water in her face. 'You're so mean!'_

_She stuck out her tongue, then tried to push him down again, but he caught her hands, trapping them against his chest. She was gasping a little, slightly out of breath from chasing each other through the water for ten minutes. Her hair was dripping with sea water and droplets were shining on her emerald skin, shimmering like her dark chocolate brown eyes as she looked up at him. Slowly, he raised one of his hands, tucking a strand of wet hair, that was sticking to her cheek, behind her ear._

_They looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Slowly, he leaned down, watching her, entranced, as her eyes fluttered shut. She raised her head a little to give him better access to her lips, and he placed one hand in her neck, gently pulling her closer. _

'_I love you,' she murmured, and shivers shot up his spine. He moved his other hand to her waist, drawing her even closer to him, closing his own eyes and parting his lips slightly in anticipation. 'I love you, too…' he whispered, his lips a mere breath away from hers. Finally, he mustered all of his courage and leaned further forward, brushing his lips against hers… _

_Then she poked his side. Hard._

_He pulled away, stunned. 'What was that for?'_

'For you falling asleep while you should be studying.'

He blinked. It took him a few moments to realise that he was staring up at the ceiling of the library, and that Elphaba was poking him with her foot to wake him up. He grunted. 'What in Oz…'

She smirked at him. 'You were talking in your sleep.'

Immediately, he shot up. 'I was?' he asked, slightly panicky. Had he slipped up? What exactly had he said?

She waved him away. 'Don't worry, I couldn't understand any of it. You were just muttering under your breath. Were you dreaming?'

He nodded mutely. She tilted her head a little, eyes shimmering with amusement. 'Was it a nice dream?'

He swallowed and licked his dry lips. To save his face, he quickly picked up a book and leaned back, trying to look relaxed and nonchalant. He shrugged. 'It was alright, I guess.'

She rolled her eyes at him and poked his side again with her bare foot. 'Yes, well, try to focus. Exams are coming up sooner than you'd like and we're not going to Shiz without you.'

He moaned. 'Oh, come on, Fae. Exams are still months away!'

'Still.' She returned to her book and he stared at the book in his own lap, but his mind drifted elsewhere. Would he kiss her, if the opportunity presented itself? It _had _presented itself, not even too long ago; when they had been playing around in the water a couple of days before… he had been about to kiss her, but he had changed his mind. He was afraid, though he wasn't sure why. Multiple reasons, he guessed. Afraid that she would run away in disgust. Or slap him. Or just tell him that she liked him as a friend, but as nothing more. Could he handle that? Rejection on her part? He wasn't sure. And he knew how jumpy she could be sometimes – what if kissing her was too straightforward, and he would scare her away?

He was jolted from his thoughts when she tossed a different – and very heavy - book into his lap. 'Try that one.'

'What's wrong with the one I'm reading right now?' he demanded, determined to not let her know that he hadn't been studying at all. A grin was tugging at the corners of her lips, though she was trying to hide it. 'That,' she said, 'is my Geography book.'

'So?'

'_So_,' she couldn't hold back her grin anymore, 'you don't have a Geography exam, Yero. You don't even have Geography _classes _anymore. In fact, you dropped Geography almost two years ago.'

He flushed bright red. 'Right.'

She leaned back, resting her head against the arm of the couch and dumping her feet in Fiyero's lap as she raised her book and continued reading. He sighed, staring down at her bare feet. She wiggled her toes and he resisted the urge to tickle them. He _knew _he should be studying, but he just couldn't focus.

Finally, he gave up, gently moving her feet away and rising to his feet. 'I'm going to find my Dad. I, um… I need to talk to him about something.'

She waved a hand in the air. 'Okay,' she muttered, her mind clearly elsewhere. He shook his head, as always amazed at her ability to focus on her studies. He could never focus on a study book for longer than five minutes, but she could get engrossed in them as if they were exciting adventure stories.

He found his father in his study, busying himself with some paperwork. When he heard Fiyero enter, he looked up, peering at his son over his reading glasses. 'Hey, Yero.'

'Dad?' Fiyero hesitated, lingering in the doorway. 'Could we… talk?'

Hamold studied his son closely, noting the serious look on his face, and nodded, pushing his chair back and rising to his feet. 'Let's go for a walk,' he suggested.

They went outside, strolling along the beach in silence for a moment before Fiyero suddenly complained, 'I don't know what's wrong with me.'

'Would you like a list?' Hamold quipped, and Fiyero glared at his father. 'I'm serious, Dad.'

The King laughed. 'I'm sorry. Please continue.'

'I mean…' Fiyero kicked at a pebble, sending it flying into the ocean. 'I think I _do _know, but… but it's ridiculous. You're going to laugh at me.'

'Tell me, Yero.'

The prince sighed, then blurted it out. 'I think I'm in love.'

Hamold nodded calmly. 'Of course.'

'What?' Fiyero stared at his father. 'What do you mean, of course?'

Hamold rolled his eyes. 'Yero, even a blind turtle can see that. It's okay. There's nothing _wrong _with being in love.' He cocked his head a little, thoughtful. 'Does Elphaba know?'

Now Fiyero was gaping at him. 'How do you know it's Elphaba?'

'I have eyes.' Hamold watched as a bird dropped down, catching something from the sea before flying up again. 'Why is this such a big deal for you, Fiyero?'

Fiyero moaned and sat down on a rock, his hands literally in his hair. 'It's not _me_! I don't fall in love! I mean, I've _liked _girls before, and I've _dated _girls – lots of girls, but… but never like this. I mean, I like her. I _really _like her. I've never been in love before, but I think I am now, and that's weird. I'm the scandalacious Fiyero Tiggular. I'm not supposed to fall in love.'

At that, Hamold gave his son a stern look. 'I thought you were past that playboy prince stage by now,' he said, and Fiyero sighed. 'I was. I am.' He stared down at a small crab making its way through the sand. 'But I'm not sure what I'm feeling right now, and that scares me. I don't know if this is just a phase, or that I'm just happy that Elphaba and I good friends again and that's all there is to it… and I'm also afraid that if I do something, I ruin our friendship. I don't even know if she likes me back, and she is always so wary of people – what if I scare her away?' He sighed again, looking miserable. 'I just don't know what to do.'

Hamold gently placed his hand on his son's arm. 'Yero,' he said. Fiyero looked up, and his father squeezed his shoulder. 'You don't have to do anything,' Hamold said quietly. 'She's not going anywhere. Just take your time. Figure out what you're feeling. Try to figure out what _she _is feeling.' A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. 'I waited two _years_ for your mother to finally say 'yes' when I asked her out. There's no rush. Leave it be for a while, okay?'

Fiyero gave his father a watery smile. 'Okay.'

Hamold patted his shoulder. 'That's my boy. Now, let's go inside.' His eyes were gleaming as he suggested, 'And perhaps you might just find the answer to your questions at the ball this weekend.'

Fiyero looked confused. His father just laughed.

He knew his son wasn't sure about his feelings, but he recognised the look in his eyes. Even though Fiyero was reluctant to admit it to himself, Hamold could see that he was head-over-heels in love with the green girl.

He grinned to himself. A plan was already forming in his mind; a very simple plan, really.

All it involved was a slow dance… and Elphaba in a beautiful dress.


	11. Chapter 11 Beautiful Liar

**AN: Thanks for the wonderful reviews! ^_^**

**Musicgal, your review left me in stitches. Thank you so much, you made my day.**

**Fae the Queen: Deal ;).**

**Artsoccer; you're right, I'm so sorry! I give you the 'no'-record AND the happy emoticon face record ;).**

**Vinkunwildflowerqueen: That's okay, I know what it's like ;) and it's not like you're obligated to review, or something, of course! But I am very happy to see that you're still reading :).**

**Somewhat of a cliffy again this time.**

* * *

**Chapter 11. Beautiful liar**

'Elphie, you look beautiful,' Galinda announced the night of the ball. She had just spent three hours preparing her best friend for it, and she was utterly satisfied with the outcome of her hard work.

'I look…' Elphaba stared at her mirror image, trying to find the right word. 'I look…'

Galinda squealed and clapped her hands. 'Gorgeous? Amazifying? Pretty?'

Elphaba sighed, suddenly feeling incredibly tired, and slumped down onto her bed. 'Like a green bean in a pretty dress.'

'Oh, Elphie!' Galinda hopped over to her friend, sitting down next to her and wrapping her arm around Elphaba's shoulders. 'You shouldn't look at yourself like that!'

'But that's what I _am_, Galinda,' the raven-haired girl said, frustrated. She sighed again and stared down at her emerald hands, resting languidly in her lap. 'I'm not a princess,' she said quietly. 'I don't belong at a ball in a pretty dress. I don't belong in a castle… I don't belong _here_.' She rose to her feet again, moving towards the window, wrapping her arms around herself as she stared out across the grasslands in the south. 'I don't belong anywhere,' she whispered, the wind carrying her words away towards the grasslands, but Galinda still heard them.

'Elphie, what makes you think that?' she demanded. 'You belong _here_. With us. With Aunt Lori and Uncle Hammy and Fifi and Coco and me… we all love you, Elphie!' _Some more than others_, she added in her mind, smirking slightly, but she didn't say anything about it. Now wasn't a good time.

Elphaba shook her head. 'No, I don't,' she said softly. 'Glin…' She sat down on the bed again. 'I don't even know where I come from. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and it's just… I feel like something is missing.' She remembered telling this to the turtle on the beach some time ago – she had been struggling with this for some time now, but she had never mentioned it to anyone until now. 'Something feels off and I can't tell you exactly what. I feel like I'm not supposed to be here, but I have no idea where it is that I _am _supposed to be.' She drew her knees to her chest and leaned her chin on top of them. 'Perhaps I'm not even human,' she said sarcastically. 'For all we know, I'm some mutated kind of vegetable.'

Galinda scowled. 'Elphie-'

'Or perhaps I just dropped down from the moon.'

Now the blonde's eyes widened. 'Oh my Oz,' she breathed, looking utterly excited. 'Do you think that would be possible? For you to be from the moon? Because, I mean, that would be _so _awesome!' she squealed.

Elphaba couldn't help but smile. 'Glin…'

Galinda pouted. 'I know. That's very unlikely.' She plopped down next to Elphaba. 'Elphie,' she said gently. 'Why didn't you say something about this before?'

'Because I knew you guys would try to reassure me,' Elphaba said immediately. 'And that's very sweet of you, but it doesn't help. I _know _you like being around me – I haven't got the faintest clue why, but if you didn't, you'd be long gone by now.' That made Galinda chuckle.

'And I know Hamold and Lori love me,' the green girl continued. 'I love them, too. They're like the parents I never had… can't even remember.' She sighed once more. 'It's not something that makes sense,' she admitted. 'It's just… just a feeling. But it's there, all the time, and I don't know what to do. Look for my real parents? But how? Where do I start? And what if I do find them, but they don't want anything to do with me? What if they dumped me on that beach on purpose because they didn't want a green child? What if I really was in a shipwreck and they're dead, then what do I do?'

'Elphie!' the blonde interrupted her sternly. 'Would you stop being pessimistic?' She hugged her friend. 'Everything is going to be okay,' she told her. 'Really. I'll help you.' Her face brightened. 'Fifi and Coco could help, too! We could be, like, a detective team.' She narrowed her eyes and waved her fingers in what was supposed to be a mysterious manner. 'Elphie and the Blonde Squad.'

Elphaba chuckled. 'I think Fiyero will disagree. He keeps insisting that he's not blonde.'

Galinda huffed. 'He totally is.' She thought about it for a moment. 'Team Pink!'

'Never,' Elphaba told her firmly.

'Team Green?' She paused. 'Team Emerald!'

'Galinda, we're not going to be a detective team!'

The blonde girl pouted. 'Well, fine. It's _your _quest, after all.' She started bouncing again. 'But even if you won't let me name us, that doesn't mean we're not going to help you. We're going to do research and find out where you're from if it's the last thing we'll _ever _do!'

Elphaba had to smile at her friend's enthusiasm. 'Thanks, Glin.'

Galinda stopped bouncing and hugged the green girl. 'Thank you. Now, would you please move in front of that mirror again?'

She did, and Galinda went to stand next to her. 'Don't you see that dress looks beautiful on you?' the petite girl asked. 'I'm going to convince you you're beautiful. Tell me – what do you see when you look in the mirror?' She paused for a moment. 'Let's start at the bottom. Feet?'

'Green.'

'Legs?'

'Green.'

'The dress is covering your legs, Elphie. You can't see the green.'

'I still _know _there's green.'

Galinda sighed and shook her head. 'Elphie…' She pinched her friend's arm. 'First of all, let's not name it 'green' anymore.'

Elphaba quirked an eyebrow at her. 'Then what did you want to call it? Purple?' she quipped.

Galinda stuck out her tongue. 'Emerald.'

Elphaba kept quiet.

'That sounds a lot nicer,' Galinda decided. 'You're emerald, like the City. Emerald Elphie.' She giggled. 'Your skin isn't ugly at all, Elphie. You don't have pimples or ugly scars or something like that.' She looked at her friend closely for a moment, critically eyeing her up and down. 'You have small feet, which is nice. You're not fat – pretty much the opposite – but you still have curves. I mean, come on, Elphie, your figure is a-ma-zing. Every girl I know would _kill _for a figure like that. Your hair is pretty, it's thick and long and shiny and curly and really beautiful. Your eyes are pretty, too – the colour is pretty, it's like chocolate, only shinier, and who doesn't love shiny chocolate?' She paused for a moment to catch her breath. 'And your eyes are big and your lashes are long, which is, like, _super_-pretty. And I like those tiny little freckles on your nose-'

'The _green_ ones, you mean?'

Galinda scowled. 'Didn't I just tell you to shut up?' she demanded, and Elphaba was stifling her laughter. 'No, as a matter of fact, you didn't.'

'Oh.' Galinda faltered. 'Well, then I'm telling you now,' she finally decided. 'So, anyway, where was I?'

'My green freckles.'

'Right. So really, Elphie, you're pretty much perfect. Actually, there's usually only one thing wrong with the picture.'

Elphaba rolled her eyes. 'The green?' she supplied, and this time Galinda whacked her arm. '_No_. The clothes. Really, Elphie, you need to get a little taste in clothes. I'll take you shopping next week,' she promised, at which Elphaba just moaned dramatically.

'But,' Galinda continued, 'since you're not wearing the dreary clothes right now, you're good. Just _look _at yourself, Elphaba. You're beautiful. Anyone with eyes can see that. Can't _you_ see it?'

Elphaba obeyed, staring at her reflection in the mirror once again. She was wearing a sapphire blue dress with a skirt that widened from the waist down. The bodice was corset-like and had to be tied up at the back; the sleeves just reached her elbows. Tulle decorated the neck and the ends of the sleeves, along with the edge of the skirt, which just brushed the floor. Galinda had talked her into wearing silver heels – not too high, but high enough – and she was wearing a silver choker necklace with small sapphires in it.

She studied her hair after that. When she had been younger, it had been straight, but it had started to curl over the years. Galinda had been very pleased with that, since it saved her the effort of trying to curl her friend's hair. Now, she had pinned it up in a loose ponytail, with curly strands tumbling down her shoulders and back.

Galinda had done a great job on her hair and make-up, the green girl had to admit. And the dress really was beautiful.

But despite everything her friend was saying, she didn't really see all that. She just couldn't see past the green.

'I'm sorry, Glin,' she said with a miserable sigh. 'I can't.'

Galinda hugged. 'You will,' she promised her friend. 'Someday.'

* * *

When the blonde entered the ballroom, dressed in a satin lavender gown and wearing pearls in her hear, she immediately headed towards Hamold and Lori, who were greeting the guests. She stood on her tiptoes, leaning up towards Hamold. 'Mission 'Make Elphie Look Beautiful' accomplished. And how,' she giggled. 'So how are things going with Mission 'Have The Orchestra Play A Love Song And Get Fiyero To Dance With Elphaba'?'

Hamold's eyes were twinkling with mischief – he _knew_ it had been a good idea to get the petite blonde girl involved. 'The orchestra is going to play a slow song as soon as I give them a sign. I'm going to talk to Yero when I'm done here and I'll make sure he'll ask her to dance.'

Galinda smiled. 'Good.'

'Enjoy yourselves,' Lori was saying to an elderly couple, smiling warmly; but the moment the two people were out of earshot, she whirled around to face her husband and Galinda, eyes narrowed dangerously. 'Alright, what are you planning?'

Galinda gave a nervous giggle and Hamold said with a straight face, 'Planning? Us? Nothing, dear. Nothing at all.'

Lori gave them one of her famous death glares and Galinda gulped. 'I, um… I'm going to find Coco,' she said quickly before scurrying off.

Lori looked at her husband pointedly. 'Hamold?'

He smiled and pulled her closer, kissing her cheek. 'You have nothing to worry about, darling. Trust me.'

She eyed him warily, but didn't say anything else.

Galinda came skipping back to them, Cohvu by her side. _She_ was beaming; _he_ was awe-struck, unable to keep his eyes off of his girlfriend.

Hamold laughed. 'Cohvu, you alright?'

'He's just dazzled by my radiating beauty,' Galinda explained with a toss of her blonde hair. She giggled. 'Aren't you, Coco?'

He rolled his eyes, but smiled at her. 'You really do look beautiful tonight, Glin.'

She pouted. 'Just tonight?'

He laughed and kissed her hand. 'No, not just tonight. You always look beautiful. I love you.'

'I love you, too.' She kissed him, then tugged at his hand. 'Come on. Let's dance.'

'Galinda?' Hamold called. She looked over her shoulder. 'Yes?'

'Where is Elphaba?'

Galinda grimaced. 'She got held up by the Duke of Gillikin. She'll be here in a moment.'

'The Duke of Gillikin?' Cohvu queried softly. 'The one with the dramatic, dreary stories?'

'Yeah,' said Galinda. 'That one. He caught us out in the hallway. Started babbling about his grandson and that he _really _likes girls with blonde hair, and then he sent a disgusting wink in my direction and started interrogating Elphie about me. You know, where I'm from, who my parents are, if I have a boyfriend.'

Cohvu looked confused. 'He was asking about you, and he didn't mind you leaving?'

'I sneaked away,' Galinda admitted. 'There was a group of five or six people coming in, and I mingled with them and disappeared into the ballroom. Elphie can deal with him by herself.'

As if she had heard that, the green girl came practically stomping into the ballroom, looking murderous. When she saw Galinda, she stalked over to her. 'Galinda Upland! How dare you leave me alone with… with _him_!'

'I'm sorry!' Galinda squeaked, hiding behind Cohvu. 'But you were handling it so well, and I thought he was creepy, so…'

Elphaba shot her a glare, but didn't say anything else. Cohvu whistled. 'Wow, El. You look amazing.'

Much to her amusement, Galinda saw a blush creeping up Elphaba's face. 'I… thank you, I guess,' the dark-haired girl muttered, and Cohvu flashed her a grin. 'I mean it.'

Elphaba swallowed. 'I, um… I'm going to find Hamold and Lori,' she said faintly, and Galinda smirked as her friend walked off. 'Elphie being shy. Never thought I'd see the day.'

'Me, neither,' Cohvu said, and Galinda sighed. 'She's just so insecure when it comes to her looks. But perhaps a boyfriend could change that.'

Cohvu looked at her pointedly. 'Galinda…'

She made big eyes at him. 'What?'

'You're not playing matchmaker, are you?'

'Who? Me?' She made an innocent face. 'Noooo…'

Her boyfriend sighed. 'So you are.'

She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. 'Maybe. But it's going to be awesome, Coco. Trust me.'

* * *

Fiyero came rushing into the ballroom, skidding to a halt next to his parents. 'Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad,' he said, slightly out of breath.

Hamold gave him a disapproving look. 'Yero, are you just _incapable _of arriving somewhere on time?'

His son flashed him a grin. 'I guess.'

Lori rolled her eyes. 'Yes, well, thank Oz you're here now.' She straightened his tie and started fumbling with his hair. He tried to pull away. 'Mom!' Then, suddenly, he froze, staring at something over his mother's shoulder with wide eyes.

Lori waved a hand in front of his face. 'Yero? Are you still with us?'

He didn't respond, and she sighed and turned to her husband angrily. 'What is _wrong _with everyone today?' she exclaimed in frustration.

Her husband chuckled and took her hand. He whispered something into his wife's ear, and understanding dawned in Lori's eyes. 'Oh.' She followed her son's gaze and smiled broadly. '_Oh_. I see.'

Hamold moved closer to his son and tapped his shoulder. 'Yero? You're drooling.'

The prince blinked and turned back towards his father. 'What?'

Hamold rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. 'Son, just ask her to dance already,' he suggested. Fiyero immediately looked panicked. 'What? No, I can't!'

The King leaned closer to his son. 'Until you try, you'll never know. You want to know if she loves you back, don't you?'

Fiyero's head whipped around. 'I said I wasn't sure how I felt about her yet!' he protested, but his father just rolled his eyes again. 'Fiyero. I believe that you didn't know what you were feeling before, I really do, but now? Stop fooling yourself. Your face is an open book.'

Fiyero looked back at Elphaba, and though he didn't like it, he had to admit his father was right. There was no ignoring the butterflies in his stomach.

He studied her, trying to keep his mouth closed and his eyes their regular size this time. She looked beautiful. He always thought she looked beautiful, but now she looked almost ethereal. A princess of the shadows. An angel of the sea. She seemed to float as she walked, and he sighed.

Oh, yes. He was in love. His father was right – there was no denying it now.

'Yero?'

He looked at the King again. Hamold nudged him with his elbow. 'Why don't you ask her to dance?' he suggested again.

Fiyero's eyes widened once more in horror. 'No!' he protested. 'That would be weird! And what if she says no?'

Lori rolled her eyes. 'Yero, there's nothing weird about two friends dancing together,' she said, before adding pointedly, 'and if you don't do something, nothing is going to happen between you two.'

Fiyero sighed. 'I suppose you're right.' He swallowed, then mustered all of his courage and nodded. 'Okay. Here goes nothing.'

'Good luck,' his father added, and the prince bravely made his way through the ballroom towards the green girl in the dark blue dress. 'Elphaba?'

She turned around and smiled at him. 'Oh. Hi, Yero.' She frowned a little, however, when she saw the look on his face. He noticed it, but he couldn't help being completely stunned – at this distance, she looked even more amazing than she had from across the room.

She seemed to deflate a little and turned away from him. 'Yeah, I know,' she muttered. 'Glin forced me into this dress, but it looks horrifying. Sorry for ruining your eyesight.'

Now it was his turn to frown. 'Would you stop saying those things?' he demanded a bit angrily. He took her hand and kissed it. 'You're beautiful.'

She rolled her eyes. 'I appreciate the effort, but you don't have to lie to me to make me feel better, Fiyero. You know me better than that.'

'Who says I was lying?' he said quietly. She shivered a little at the intent gaze in his eyes and averted hers, staring at her feet instead. Suddenly, he asked, 'Would you like to dance?'

Her head whipped up again, eyes narrowed, searching his face for the joke she was sure would be behind this; but when she found none, she hesitated, then laid her hand in his. 'Alright.'

He grinned broadly and led her towards the dance floor. At the other side of the room, Hamold was jumping up and down frantically, trying to get the attention of the orchestra conductor. When the man finally looked at his King, Hamold gestured wildly. The conductor nodded and turned back towards the musicians. He made a few gestures of his own and a different song started, a slow one.

Hamold lowered his arms, panting slightly from the effort, but with a content smile on his face. Lori shook her head in mock pity. 'Sweet Oz, Hamold. You are incorrigible.'

He grinned at her and pulled her close for a kiss. 'I know.'

'Fae?' Fiyero asked as he and Elphaba moved to the music together. She looked up at him and he was enchanted by her sparkling chocolate brown eyes. 'Yes?'

He shook his head slightly in an attempt to clear it. 'Do you really think that low of yourself?' he asked her quietly, and she lowered her gaze, knowing what he was talking about. 'It's not thinking low of myself, really,' she said. Her eyes shot up again, flashing defensively as she looked at him, daring him to counter her next words. 'It's knowing the truth and not being afraid to say it out loud.'

She was just challenging him to disagree, and of course he did. 'That's bullshit, Elphaba,' he said fiercely. 'You don't look horrifying, and apologising for ruining my eyesight is not funny.'

He wanted to say more, but she held up one hand to stop him and said tiredly, 'Could we not go over this again, please? I just had an everlasting discussion about beauty with Galinda in my room, and I really don't feel like doing that all over again.'

'Galinda tried to convince you that you're beautiful?' he asked, and she nodded, rolling her eyes. Fiyero smiled. It was good to know that the blonde girl was on his side in this one.

'Fine,' he said, spinning her out. 'I won't argue with you about it.' He spun her back in, causing her to nearly lose her balance and fall against his chest. He smiled down at her. 'But I just want you to know…' He pulled her closer as they started swirling around on the dance floor again. '…that tonight, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.'

Much to his satisfaction, she blushed again. 'Don't do this, Yero,' she warned him, but he ignored her. 'You always look beautiful,' he said softly. 'But never more so than you do tonight.'

Meanwhile, Galinda and Cohvu had joined Hamold and Lori again. The blonde girl was squealing and bouncing up and down. 'This was the best idea you've _ever _had, Uncle Hammy!' she gushed, and he laughed. 'I know.' He cocked his head a little, thoughtful. 'You know?' he said in wonder. 'Elphaba's dress _exactly _matches the colour of Fiyero's eyes.'

Galinda rolled her eyes. 'Um, _yes_,' she said, as if that much should be obvious. '_Duh_. That's not a coincidence, Uncle Hammy – I told you I was an expert. It's all about the details.'

Cohvu frowned a little. 'But your dress doesn't match my-'

'No, of course it doesn't match your eyes,' Galinda said indignantly. 'I would never wear gray!' She smiled sweetly at him. 'But it matches the lavender stripes in your tie.'

He looked down. He hadn't even realised there _were _lavender stripes in his tie until she mentioned it. 'Wow. You really are an expert.'

Galinda smiled smugly. 'I know.'

Suddenly, there was a sound of shattering glass echoing through the ballroom. Everyone immediately turned towards the sound, confused murmurs rising from the crowd. The music stopped and Fiyero and Elphaba turned as well, not knowing what was going on.

In the middle of the room was the Governor of Munchkinland – or at least Elphaba assumed it was him, because there was a teenage girl in a wheelchair right beside him, looking concerned. 'Father?' they heard her ask quietly. 'Are you okay?'

The man completely ignored her, though. He was staring at Elphaba wide-eyed, gasping for breath as if he had just ran all the way here from Munchkinland, and his face was as white as a sheet.

Elphaba stepped forward, puzzled. 'Sir?' she asked politely, but he shrunk away from her, eyes fixed on her as if she was a ghost having come back from his past to haunt him.

He closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them again and saw that she was still there, that she was real, his face turned another shade paler, making him look almost gray. 'Melena…' he breathed, all kinds of emotions visible in his eyes.

Then he fainted.


	12. Chapter 12 Curiouser And Curiouser

**AN: Everyone is immediately like, 'Frex! That can't be good! :O'. Well, you're just going to have to wait and see, right? ^_^ Just so you know, though: I might be playing around with Elphaba's parentage a little. Nothing too bad, but since the Wizard is probably not going to appear in this story, I won't exactly follow the musical when it comes to Elphie's father.**

**Vinkunwildflowerqueen: I KNOW! ;) But I feel like I've been slipping that quote into way too many of my stories already, and since I think you could all make the connection yourself, I decided to leave it up to you to fill in the gaps ^_^.**

**Musicgal: ROTF once again. Elphaba fell out of the Wizard's balloon?! LOL...**

**Scarlett the Squiddy: Thank you so much for your review. I love my silent stalkers, but I also really, really love my reviewing stalkers, and so I'm glad you did leave me a review. Thank you so much! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 12. Curiouser and curiouser**

'Tell me where he is!' Elphaba nearly begged the maid. 'Please!'

The girl shook her head. 'I'm sorry, Miss Elphaba,' she said sympathetically. 'He's been taken upstairs to recuperate from his fainting spell. You're not supposed to get up there – no one is. Only Miss Nessarose is up there now, and her Majesty gave specific orders for him not to be disturbed.'

'But Resie,' the green girl said pleadingly. '_He knows something_. He knows _me_. And he _fainted _when he saw me – it has to mean _something_! _Please_ tell me where he is!'

The maid hesitated. She, like everyone at the palace, knew about Miss Elphaba's background; and in all honesty, she felt a little bad for the girl. If it were Resie who had grown up without parents and without knowing where she came from, and then something like this happened… wouldn't she want to find out what the Governor knew, as well?

She caved. 'Second floor,' she said softly. 'Fourth door on the right.'

Elphaba hugged the maid quickly. 'Thank you, Resie!' With that, she dashed off.

Fiyero, who had been standing behind her, now stared after her, feeling a little awkward and slightly disappointed. Of course, he was happy for Elphaba if this meant she would discoverate something about her past; but why did this have to happen _right _in the middle of their dance together? Plus, he didn't really like the fact that she suddenly didn't spare him a single glance anymore. He could admit that much. It kind of hurt his ego.

Just then, she cast a look over her shoulder. 'Are you coming?' she asked, and his face broke into a grin as he ran after her.

They stormed through the hallways and up the stairs together. In front of the door to Frexspar's room, Elphaba stopped and smoothed out the skirt of her dress before taking a deep breath. 'Here we go.'

He took her hand and squeezed it, and she flashed him a grateful smile before quietly entering the room.

The Governor was sitting in a chair, still looking pale, but better now. There was a glass of water on the nightstand and a blanket around his shoulders. His daughter, Nessarose, the girl in the wheelchair, was sitting next to him, holding his hand and looking anxious.

Upon hearing the door open, they both looked up, and Frex immediately paled again. 'You…'

'Excuse me, Governor Thropp,' Fiyero said smoothly. He bowed before the man. 'My name is Fiyero Tiggular, Crown Prince of the Vinkus. This is-'

'Melena,' Frex whispered again, and his daughter looked confused. 'Father?' the girl asked quietly. 'Who is this Melena you keep mentioning?'

The Governor swallowed and forced a smile. 'No one, dear,' he said to his daughter, but it didn't sound convincing.

Elphaba knelt down in front of him. 'My name is Elphaba,' she said slowly, and his eyes suddenly got an absent, distant look in them. 'Elphaba…' He smiled softly, his mind clearly elsewhere. 'That's a beautiful name.'

'I… Thank you,' Elphaba said, confused. Silence fell over the room again. Nessarose was eyeing Elphaba up and down curiously, and Frex was studying the green girl's every feature as if his life depended on him remembering every single detail about her.

'Sir?' she broke the silence, her voice soft. 'Why did you call me Melena?'

Frex immediately snapped out of his trance-like state, his eyes clearing. He shook his head violently. 'It's nothing, girl. A… a memory. Of a woman from my past. That's all.' He forced another smile. 'But it's clear you're not her, Miss Elphaba. I apologise for my strange reaction upon laying eyes on you. Please don't take it the wrong way.'

Now _she _was studying _him_, her dark eyes narrowed. 'You're not surprised by my skin colour,' she stated.

He seemed taken aback. 'What?'

'My skin,' she said. 'Usually when people see me, they are repulsed, or scared, or at the very least surprised…'

'My father _fainted _upon seeing you,' Nessarose sneered. 'Is that surprise enough for you?'

Elphaba ignored her. 'You did faint,' she said to Frexspar. 'But that wasn't because of my skin colour. You weren't repulsed or scared. You looked surprised, yes, but it was a different kind of surprise… Like my skin is something you hadn't seen in a long time and didn't expect to see here.'

He met her gaze. 'Like I said, Miss Elphaba. You remind me of a woman from my past.'

She shook her head. 'That's not it,' she said stubbornly. 'That's not all of it.'

Frex looked at the green girl and opened his mouth to say something, but just then, Nessarose spoke up sharply. 'If you'll excuse us, my father just fainted and he is not feeling very well. Could you please leave us be for a moment?'

Elphaba hesitated, then rose to her feet. 'Alright,' she relented. 'We'll leave now. Get well soon, sir. Goodbye, Miss Nessarose.'

Nessa nodded curtly. Frex didn't respond in any way, just stared at the floor.

Elphaba and Fiyero made their way outside. The dark-haired girl closed the door behind her and leaned her back against it, trying to comprehend what had just happened. 'That was… weird.'

'Why? You think he's hiding something?' asked Fiyero, and Elphaba nodded. 'Did you not _see _the look in his eyes? I _know _he's hiding something.' Her dark eyes were shining with determination, looking like burning coals in the dimly lit hallway. 'And I'm going to find out what.'

* * *

Elphaba climbed up the rocks until she reached the highest one on them – a protruding rock that formed some kind of cliff, about ten meters above the water. She ran up to the edge of the cliff and jumped, her raven hair flying behind her as she dived into the water, relishing in the rush of adrenaline shooting through her body. 'Whooooh!'

Galinda buried her face in Cohvu's chest, afraid to look. 'That girl is going to get herself killed sometime!' she wailed.

Cohvu laughed. 'Aw, come on, Glin. It's only ten meters, and the water is deep there. It's not like she'll hit rock bottom or anything.'

Galinda made a scared little sound and burrowed deeper into his chest. He just chuckled and put his arms around her.

Fiyero, who was already down in the water, held up his hands against the splash of water she caused when she hit the surface. He laughed and lowered his arms. 'That looked amazing.'

He realised she couldn't have heard him, since she hadn't surfaced yet, and he shook his head. Ever since she had discovered that she could touch sea water, she had loved to swim – especially underwater. At first, he had panicked once again when she stayed under the water for over two minutes – in fact, he had dived down himself to 'rescue' her; but by now he was used to it… much to Elphaba's delight, he knew. The green girl had been ready to punch him when he had been all panicky about her staying under for too long - for the third time.

The minutes ticked by and Galinda shook her head. 'Show-off.'

Cohvu laughed. 'Well, you have to admit it _is _pretty impressive,' he said. 'She's been under for over three minutes now!'

'Do you hear that, Fifi?' Galinda called across the water. 'She, who has only been swimming for less than a year, can hold her breath longer than you, who has grown up right next to a sea!'

He stuck out his tongue at her.

When Elphaba still didn't surface, however, he started to grow worried. 'Cohvu?' he asked anxiously. 'How long has it been?'

Cohvu, who had been counting all the while, looked a little pale as well now. 'Five minutes.'

Galinda's eyes were wide. 'No one can hold their breath for that long.'

'Well, technically, there are people who managed to-'

'Coco!' she interrupted him, her already high-pitched voice shooting up even more into a panicky squeak. 'What if she got stuck or something?' She turned her head around to call for Fiyero, but he had already disappeared underneath the water.

He seemed to stay under for forever, but in reality, it was barely twenty seconds before he surfaced again with Elphaba in his arms. She was coughing and spluttering, and Galinda immediately squealed and leapt to her feet, launching herself at the green girl. 'Elphie! Are you okay!'

'Her foot got stuck,' Fiyero answered for her. He looked a bit pale.

Galinda shot her boyfriend a glare. 'I told you!'

Cohvu held up his hands in surrender, then looked at Elphaba. 'You okay?'

She nodded, but didn't say anything. Fiyero looked down at her in concern. 'Are you sure?'

'Yes, Fiyero,' she said quietly. 'You can put me down now.'

He did, and she immediately moved towards the beach, picking up her towel and wrapping it around herself. 'I'm going inside.'

Fiyero stared after her, bewildered. 'Do you think she's really okay?'

Galinda placed a hand on his arm. 'She probably just got a good scare, that's all. You have to keep in mind that she hasn't been swimming for all that long – it must have been scary for her to be trapped under the water.'

Cohvu looked sceptical. 'Elphaba? Scared?'

Galinda frowned. 'Yes… you're right – that doesn't make sense. Elphie is never scared.' She shook her head. 'Just leave her be for a moment,' she advised Fiyero. 'She'll be fine.'

He didn't seem convinced, but dropped the matter nonetheless.

* * *

When Elphaba ran through the hallways of the castle, dressed in just a towel and a bathing suit, she bumped into someone.

'I'm sor-' she started, but she faltered when she realised it was Frex. He stared down at her with wide eyes, as if he could not believe what he was seeing.

'Miss Elphaba,' he said after a while, and his voice sounded strangely choked. 'Are you… wet?'

She flushed. 'I just went swimming,' she explained, and he blinked at her. 'Swimming.'

'In the sea,' she clarified. He nodded, seemingly dazed. 'Salt water,' he muttered under his breath.

Elphaba had already been moving past him, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard that. 'What?'

He looked up, apparently surprised that she had heard that. 'Hm? Oh, nothing.'

'You said something,' she pressed on. 'Did you say 'salt water'?'

'I didn't say anything,' he snapped, turning away from her and starting to walk down the corridor again. 'A good day to you, Miss Elphaba.'

She stayed there for a moment, frozen in place. She thought about going after him for a moment, but decided against it; he probably wouldn't tell her anything right now, anyway. She promised herself to go talk to him later. She was absolutely certain that he knew something about her that he wasn't telling her, and she wanted to find out what that something was.

She continued to her room and closed the door behind her, letting out a breath. She put the towel away and undressed, cleaning herself with her oils before changing into some more appropriate clothing and sitting down on her bed, chewing her lip as she thought about what had happened.

Her foot had gotten stuck in some water plants, and she had panicked a little. She had never been trapped under the water before and she had started kicking and squirming blindly to get free. In her panic, she had taken in a gulp of water… and something really, really strange had happened.

She shook her head slightly. No. In her panic, she must have imagined things. What she thought had happened, could _not _really have happened. It just wasn't possible and so it couldn't be true.

Satisfied with her reasoning, she rose to her feet again. She thought about her next course of action for a moment. She should probably go back to her friends, to reassure them that she really was okay; but on the other hand, she didn't really feel like talking to them right now, and she wanted to find out what was going on with Frex.

Finally, she opened the door and slipped inside the hallway, heading for the Governor's guest rooms. She just hoped he had cooled off a little by now.

* * *

'What do you mean, he's gone?' Elphaba stared at Lori in disbelief.

The Queen took a sip of her tea. 'Just like I said,' she said patiently. 'Frexspar and Nessarose left back for Munchkinland an hour or so ago.'

'But I talked to him just before that!' Elphaba spluttered, and Lori shrugged. 'It was a last-minute call, apparently. They came to say goodbye and then they left in their carriage. Why? Is something wrong?'

Elphaba sighed and lowered herself onto a chair. 'It's just… what happened at the ball the other day, and… and just now, he said something strange. When I met him in the hallway, I mean. Like… like he knew something, but he was hiding it from me.' She sighed and buried her head in her arms, which were resting on the table. 'But now I'll probably never find out,' she said, her voice muffled by her arms. 'I guess I'm just doomed to stay in the dark about my past forever.'

Lori placed a comforting hand on the green girl's arm. 'Don't think like that, Elphaba,' she chided her gently. 'That's not true. You'll find out where you're from one day.'

Elphaba raised her head. 'I want to find out _now_!' she complained, and Lori chuckled. 'You can't always get what you want.'

That earned her a glare.

'I'm serious, Elphaba.' The Queen took Elphaba's hands in her own, looking into the girl's eyes. 'Listen to me, sweetheart. I understand why it's important for you to find out where you came from and who your parents are. I really do.' She squeezed Elphaba's hands. 'But you're like a daughter to me, I just want to give you some motherly advice. Sweetie…' She shook her head. 'Where you're from, or what happened to you before we found you, does not define who you really are. You're you. You're Elphaba. And whether you're from the Vinkus, from a land beyond Oz, or from the moon, for all I care, that won't change anything about who you are inside. Right here.' She placed her fingers over her own heart. 'Do you understand that?'

Elphaba sighed, pulling away her hands. 'I do,' she said quietly. 'I really do. It's like I told Galinda the other day – it's more of a feeling than a rational thing. I just feel like there's a hole inside of me that can't be filled by anything other than the truth about my past.'

Lori smiled a bit sadly. 'I get it, Elphaba. I'm sorry. We have been looking, Hamold and I, but we never found a clue as to where you could be from.'

'Which is why it's so important for me to be able to talk to Frex,' Elphaba said pleadingly. 'He knows something, Lori. I'm sure of it. And he's the only starting point I have.'

Lori nodded slowly, then smiled again at the green girl, more genuine this time. 'You know what?' she said, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. 'I think I'm going to invite the Governor over for some tea in another few weeks.'

Elphaba smiled back. 'Thank you, Lori.' She frowned a little. 'Do you think he'll come all the way to Vinkus to have tea with you?'

Lori snorted. 'We're King and Queen. We'll _make _him come if he doesn't come by himself,' she declared. She cocked her head a little to the side. 'But I'll just make up some excuse about political stuff, or something, to ensure that he'll come,' she decided. 'No problem, Elphaba. Just promise me one thing.'

'What?' the dark-haired girl asked, and Lori looked at her. 'When he gets here, I don't want you to let him leave again until you've found all the answers he can give you.'

Elphaba grinned at the Queen. 'Promise.' She hugged her. 'Thank you.'

'Anytime, sweetheart.' Lori hugged her back tightly, then pulled back and smiled. 'Anytime.'


	13. Chapter 13 Drive By

**AN: The title of this chapter is the title of another Train song, and it's mainly about the final part of this chapter. I love irony. You'll see when you get there; it ends with a cliffy once again :D.**

**Scarlett the Squiddy: Sure, you can call me that :P and I might just do that! You'll hear from me when the time approaches ;).**

**Watercolor, no selkies and no waterbenders, but you're actually closer than you think.**

**Musicgal: You, too, are closer than you think :). And yes, I'm going to play around with Nessa's parentage as well. Just FYI.**

**And no, Frex is not evil in this story, for a change :).**

* * *

**Chapter 13. Drive by**

'_Oh, Yero!' Elphaba purred, looking up at him with wide eyes as he was holding her up in his strong arms. She batted her eyelashes at him. 'You saved me!'_

'_Anytime, baby,' he growled in his sexy man voice, and she was swooning over him. 'Kiss me, Yero,' she ordered, and he slowly put her to her feet, leaning down to brush her lips with his…_

'Fi-ye-ro.'

He jolted awake with a start, shooting bolt upright and looking around him in bewilderment. 'Huh?'

Cohvu rolled his eyes at him. 'Dude, this has to stop,' he told his friend sternly. 'Just ask her already!'

'How did you know it was about her?' Fiyero demanded, and Cohvu grinned at him. 'You were moaning in your sleep.' He fluttered his eyelashes and pursed his lips. 'Oh, Elphaba, I love you so much…' He made kissing noises. 'Let me do my sexy man voice for you!'

Fiyero threw a pillow in his direction. It hit Cohvu's head, but the boy's smirk didn't fade in the slightest. 'How do you even _know _about my sexy man voice?'

'Everyone knows about it,' Cohvu told the prince. 'Every girl you've ever used it on was completely swooning over it. Just for your information, though: it won't work on Elphaba. I can promise you that.'

Fiyero sighed. 'I know,' he muttered. 'Sometimes I think that _nothing _works on Elphaba.'

'Nothing you've ever used on other girls,' Cohvu corrected him. 'And that's only because everything you ever used on other girls came from your Dancing-Through-Life-stage. No more tight white pants and smooth pick-up lines for you, Mister. This time you're going to have to be real.'

Fiyero sat up, pushing his study books off his lap – he had been studying in his room with Cohvu, but he had apparently fallen asleep again. He felt a bit guilty, since he probably should be studying for his finals, and stuff; but really, could you blame him? Studying was so _boring_.

'What do you mean, real?' he now asked his friend, and Cohvu sat up a little. 'What I'm saying,' he said. 'Real, as in: be yourself. Not the scandalacious playboy prince, but you. Fiyero. The one she grew up with. Just be honest with her about how you feel and what you want from her.'

Fiyero made a face. 'Honest?' he echoed sceptically, and Cohvu quirked an eyebrow at him pointedly. 'I strongly advise you not to lie to her, Yero,' he warned him. 'She'll know, and it will only chase her away.'

The prince sighed, letting himself fall back onto the bed. 'You're right. She'll know. She _always _knows. Does the girl read _minds_?' he complained, and Cohvu chuckled. 'Just yours, buddy. Just yours.'

Fiyero shot up, staring at his friend wide-eyed. 'Wait a clock-tick. Do you think she _knows_?' he asked fearfully.

Much to his relief, Cohvu shook his head. 'No way. She reads you like an open book, but when it comes to these sorts of things, she doesn't see it.' He chewed the inside of his cheek. 'Galinda says it's about her looks,' he mused. 'She's insecure about her skin, and so she doesn't believe that anyone could ever love her. I'm not sure if that's true, but I guess it is – Glin is usually right about these things.'

Fiyero was shocked. 'Really? I mean… I know she feels that way about her skin colour, but… I didn't know it went that deep.'

Cohvu nodded. 'According to Galinda, it does.' He sighed. 'I wish Glin was here right now,' he muttered. 'She could probably give you much better advice on this matter than I ever could.'

Fiyero shook his head. 'Yes, well, I'm not going to wait for her to come back to Adurin Iir in the summer,' he said. 'I want to do something before that.'

'Fiyero?' His mother poked her head around the door. 'Are you still going to town in the afternoon?'

He stretched lazily. 'Yeah. We're going to that new coffee place, get a break from the studying.' He looked at her. 'Why?'

She handed him a piece of paper. 'Could you pick up some papers for me at this address?'

Fiyero grimaced. 'Don't we have servants for that?'

'You're going to town, no matter what,' his mother said pointedly. 'Why would I send a servant after you when you are perfectly capable of picking up those papers?'

He grumbled and she sighed. 'Clearly, I have done something wrong in raising you.'

Cohvu chuckled. 'He'll be fine, Mrs. T.,' he assured her. 'Eventually.'

She flashed him a tired grin. 'Eventually. And I told you to stop calling me that.'

Cohvu rolled his eyes, but returned her grin. 'Fine, Lori.'

She smiled at him, then left the room. Fiyero rolled over on his bed, lying upside down on his back with his head dangling from the end of the bed. 'Cohvu,' he whined. 'What am I supposed to do now?'

'Go to town,' Cohvu suggested with a mischievous glint in his eyes. 'Pick up the papers for your Mom, and-'

'_Cohvu. _You're not helping.'

The other boy sighed. Then his face brightened. 'Why don't we invite Elphaba along this afternoon?'

Fiyero groaned. 'She'll never say yes to that. It's only six more weeks until finals – she'll never leave her books alone.'

'Well, if you don't ask, you won't know.' Cohvu jumped to his feet and practically skipped out of the room, calling, 'Elphaba!' in a sing-song voice.

Fiyero sighed and reluctantly got to his feet, following after his friend.

* * *

Much to his surprise, Elphaba actually agreed to going into town with the two boys; and after lunch, the three of them left in a carriage.

Despite the fact that she came along, she didn't seem like her usual self, Cohvu noted. She seemed distant and quiet; where she usually engaged in conversation with them, often commenting on everything she saw, she now barely spoke a word at all. He had noticed that she had been that way ever since the ball. Fiyero had told him her theories about Frex, and he figured it had something to do with that: that she was just struggling with her past and her origins, and the role Governor Frexspar played in all that.

'El?' he asked, and she looked up, looking like her mind had been miles away. 'Hm?'

He looked at her a bit worriedly. 'Are you okay?'

She rolled her eyes. 'Fine, Cohvu. Why wouldn't I be?' she quipped, but even her sarcasm seemed to have dulled a little. He exchanged a glance with Fiyero, and this time, she snapped. 'Stop looking at each other like that! And stop looking at _me _like that! I'm fine, and _you _are being annoying and ridiculous!'

Fiyero just grinned at her outburst. 'There's my girl again.'

She glowered at him, crossing her arms. 'I'm not your girl.'

Fiyero's face fell, and Cohvu chuckled. 'Ouch,' he whispered in his friend's ear. 'Really, Yero, you're going to have to try harder.'

Fiyero shoved him.

Elphaba just quirked an eyebrow at the both of them. 'You know,' she said finally. '_You _are looking at _me _like I'm behaving in a strange way, but have you looked at _yourselves _lately?'

'We're all acting weird,' agreed Cohvu. 'Do you think it's the fact that we're almost finished with high school? Like, we're having a quarter-life-crisis, or something?'

Fiyero snorted a laugh. 'Who knows?'

'Yes, well, if _you _keep going like this, you won't have to worry about university just yet,' Cohvu pointed out a bit sharply. 'Because _you_, my dear prince, have barely been studying at all.'

Elphaba narrowed her eyes at the prince. 'Fiyero, if you fail your finals, I swear-'

'I'm not going to fail!'

Her eyes narrowed further. He gave in. 'Alright,' he muttered, staring at his feet, feeling embarrassed. 'I just don't get it, okay? It's too hard. Or I'm too stupid. That's why I haven't been studying – I just don't understand _what _I'm studying.'

Cohvu grunted softly. 'Dude,' he said, grating his teeth in mild annoyance. 'You should have told us! We all thought you were just being stupid again.'

'I _am _stupid,' Fiyero snapped at him. 'Just not for the reasons you thought of.'

Elphaba's face softened and she scooted a bit closer to him, laying her hand on his arm. 'You're not stupid,' she told him firmly. 'And I'll help you, okay? We'll study together. You're going to pass your finals, Yero. You can do it, I know you can.'

He smiled at her, a genuine smile, and she smiled back. Then she went back to staring out of the window, but she didn't move away from him.

Cohvu caught Fiyero's gaze. He half-closed his eyes and pretended to have a girl in his arms, pursing his lips and flickering his tongue exaggeratedly, as if he was kissing the invisible girl. Fiyero just shot him a glare and stuck out his tongue.

Once they arrived in Hadyo, the nearest relatively large town, they went to pick up the papers for Lori, then moved to the new coffeehouse.

Fiyero took a sip from his coffee and heaved a content sigh. 'I love this place.'

Cohvu, who was devouring his piece of apple pie as if it was his last, put up one thumb. 'I agree,' he said with his mouth still full, spraying crumbs of pie all over the table.

Elphaba whacked the back of his head. 'Don't you have manners!'

'Yes, Mommy,' he said, earning himself a glare from the green girl. Fiyero chuckled.

'So,' Cohvu said casually, stirring his coffee. 'I heard Governor Thropp of Munchkinland will be coming over next weekend.'

Elphaba nodded. 'He is.' She set her jaw in determination. 'And this time, he's not leaving before he told me everything.'

'Do you need help?' Cohvu offered. 'We could tie him to a chair for you to interrogate him. Or throw him into the dungeons. Or… Ooh, I know! We could torture him until he tells you what you want to know!'

Fiyero choked on his coffee in a fit of laughter, spraying the stuff all over the table. Elphaba cast her eyes heavenward in despair. 'Why?' she demanded of no one in particular. '_Why_?!'

Fiyero tried to compose himself, but he was still grinning as he placed his hand on her shoulder. 'Aw, come on, Fae. Admit it – you don't mind us all that much.'

'You love us,' Cohvu added with a significant look at the prince, and Fiyero kicked him under the table – hard. Luckily, Elphaba didn't seem to have noticed; she just grumbled something unintelligible under her breath and took another sip of coffee.

They talked for another while, then decided to go back. 'I still have some more studying to do,' explained Elphaba, earning her exasperated looks from both boys.

She linked her arm with Fiyero's and smirked up at him. 'And you, my dear prince, are going to be studying with me. I'm going to drag you through those finals, whether you like it or not.'

Fiyero looked at Cohvu pleadingly. 'Shoot me. Please.'

Elphaba whacked his arm. 'Shut up, Yero. If you need help, you shouldn't be afraid to ask it; and now, to punish you for not asking for it earlier, I'm going to make you study until you drop dead.'

'If I'm not even going to live to see finals, then what's the point in studying for them?' Fiyero complained. Elphaba chuckled, leaning her head against his shoulder. 'I'm serious, Yero. I'm going to help you.'

'Thanks, Fae.' He squeezed her hand.

As they made their way back to the carriage, Fiyero suddenly stiffened, and Elphaba pulled away a little to look up at him. 'Yero? What's wrong?'

Wordlessly, he pointed at something across the street, and Elphaba followed his gaze. She grumbled something unladylike when she realised what he was pointing at. 'Oh, just great.'

The person came towards them, and Fiyero immediately moved in front of Elphaba, staring the other boy down. 'What do you want, Avaric?'

The boy cleared his throat awkwardly. 'Um… hi.' He looked at Elphaba. She half expected him to make a snide comment about her skin, as usual, but instead, he asked quietly, 'How is your arm?'

Surprised, she replied, 'It's fine.'

He nodded. 'Okay.'

'Avaric.' Cohvu went to stand next to Fiyero. 'What do you want?'

'Nothing,' he said hastily. 'I just wanted to apologise to Elphaba.' He looked at her again. 'I really am sorry.'

She nodded coolly. 'Thank you.'

Fiyero snorted. 'You're _thanking _him? For apologising for almost _killing _you?'

'Let it go, Fiyero.' She placed a hand on his arm. 'He's not worth it.'

But he was boiling with rage again at the mere memory of what Avaric had been trying to do. 'I should kill _you _for what you tried to do, you piece of-'

'Yero!' Cohvu interrupted him sharply. 'That's enough!'

Avaric backed away slowly, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. 'I'm not looking for a fight,' he said pleadingly. 'I really only wanted to-'

'Come here, you!' Fiyero roared, and Avaric turned and fled, Fiyero right on his heels. Elphaba and Cohvu watched open-mouthed as the prince chased after the other boy, both of them dodging carriages, lampposts, and bewildered pedestrians as they went.

'Fiyero!' Elphaba cried, and Cohvu heaved a sigh. 'Can't that boy just _think _for once?'

'With _what_?' Elphaba grunted, making him laugh.

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound, followed by startled shrieks and calls for help, coming from passerby's. Elphaba looked at Cohvu with wide eyes, then dashed off in the direction of the sound. Cohvu was right behind her, running as fast as he could.

When Elphaba rounded the corner, she skidded to a halt so suddenly that Cohvu literally bumped into her. She barely even noticed, though; her eyes were fixed on something ahead of her, and when Cohvu followed her gaze, he sucked in his breath, just as shocked as she was.

Right there in the middle of the street was Fiyero, half-caught under a carriage, lying in a pool of his own blood.

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**Heheh. I'm mean, aren't I? :D As always, reviews make me write faster! O:)**


	14. Chapter 14 Is It Over Yet

**AN: Your reactions made me laugh. Again. Yes, I can do this. I am an Evil Queen of Cliffies, you know that.**

**Mad-Idina-Fan98: You're so, so close.**

**So... update. With another sort-of cliffy, I guess.**

* * *

**Chapter 14. Is it over yet?**

'Fiyero!' Elphaba immediately ran towards him, dropping to her knees next to him, taking his hand. 'Fiyero? Can you hear me?'

His eyes were open, and he was gasping for air. She brushed some hair away from his forehead. 'Stay with me. Stay with me, Yero. Don't close your eyes. Somebody call an ambulance!' she shouted, and several people ran off towards the hospital, which was luckily only a few blocks away.

Shaken from his shock-induced state, Cohvu ordered some strong man to lift the carriage off the prince. 'What happened?' he asked, looking pale.

'He just ran onto the street,' a passerby explained. 'He was chasing some other boy, and he didn't look where he was going. The carriage couldn't stop and hit him.'

The driver of the carriage had been helped out of it and was sitting on the sidewalk, looking about ready to faint. Avaric had stopped, too, to stare at the wounded prince with the widest eyes Cohvu had ever seen on anyone. 'I… I didn't… I mean, it wasn't…'

'It wasn't your fault,' Cohvu told him. 'Just go.'

Avaric gaped at him. 'But…'

'None of us wants to see you right now, Avaric!' Cohvu snapped at him. 'Just go already!'

The other boy hesitated, then nodded and left. Cohvu looked back at his friends, forcing himself to breathe and just praying that the ambulance would arrive soon.

Fiyero's eyes were fluttering open and shut. He was clearly trying his hardest to stay conscious, but it was also clear that it was difficult for him. Elphaba was nearly crushing the bones in his hand. 'Yero?'

'Still… here,' he gasped, and she stroked his hair gently. 'Just stay with me. Keep your eyes open, okay? The ambulance will be here soon.'

'Fae…' His voice was barely a whisper anymore, and she squeezed his hand harder, cupping his face with one hand to force him to look at her. 'Look at me, Yero. Are you still there?' When he didn't respond, she snapped, 'Fiyero!'

His eyes flew open again and she breathed a sigh of relief. 'Don't do that,' she said quietly. 'Work with me here. You're going to be okay, do you hear me? You're not going to die, Fiyero. You're not. You'll be fine.' Blood was slowly colouring his sandy hair red, and she realised that his clothes were stained with it, as well. She had no idea where he was hurt, exactly, but she knew it couldn't be good.

Someone else knelt down next to her. 'What happened?' the man asked, and only then did she realise that it was someone from the hospital.

While a few witnesses explained what had happened, Elphaba scooted away, making room for the medical staff; but when they lifted Fiyero onto a stretcher and made to move him into the ambulance carriage, he suddenly became restless.

One of the nurses came out again, looking around searchingly. 'He's asking for someone named Fae?'

She immediately shot up. 'That's me!'

The nurse gestured for her to get into the carriage as well, and she went to sit next to Fiyero's stretcher, taking his hand once again. He relaxed visibly when he saw her, though his breathing was still ragged and irregular. 'Stay with me,' he pleaded softly, and she choked out a strangled, mirthless laugh. 'I was beginning to think that was _my _line.'

His eyes slowly closed, and she panicked a little. She looked at the medic across from her. 'Is he going to be okay? Can you help him?'

'I'm not sure, Miss,' the man replied. 'We will know more once we get to the hospital.'

She tenderly brushed some more hair away from Fiyero's face and leaned down to kiss his forehead. 'Hold on, Yero,' she whispered. 'You're going to be just fine.'

* * *

The moment they arrived at the hospital, they took him away. She almost started to chew her nails, something she often did when she was scared or nervous; but then she realised her hands were covered in Fiyero's blood. When she looked down, she noticed that her dress was stained with it, too.

She wrapped her arms around her waist, suddenly shivering, and just stood there for a moment, staring at the door through which they had taken Fiyero away. Though shocked, she had also felt strangely calm when she had found Fiyero on the street. Somehow she had known that her panicking wouldn't help him in that moment, and she hadn't cried, or screamed, or lost it. Now, however, she could feel the panic slowly creeping up on her. What if they couldn't help him? What if the damage was too severe?

What if he was going to die?

She shook her head and pulled a lock of hair over her shoulder to chew on. Somehow, that simple movement calmed her down a little.

She took a few more deep breaths, then moved towards the ladies' room, spending the next twenty minutes at the sink, washing his blood off her hands, her arms, her face. She couldn't get it out of her clothes, but that didn't matter. She wasn't really doing it for any other reason than to give herself something to do, anyway.

She wondered where Cohvu had gone off to, but just then, she heard something out in the waiting room. She left the bathroom and was met with the sight of Cohvu, looking completely bewildered as he was shown into the room by a nurse that immediately left again.

When he saw her, he walked over to her right away and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. 'Where is he?' he asked in a choked voice. 'What are they doing to him?'

'He's in surgery.' Elphaba swallowed, but the lump in her throat didn't disappear, and neither did the dryness in her mouth. 'I don't know what they're doing or how long it's going to take.'

He pulled away, but didn't let go of her hand as they both sat down. 'I sent someone to Adurin Iir,' Cohvu said hoarsely. 'To tell Hamold and Lori about what happened.'

Elphaba nodded mutely and he didn't say anything else after that, either. He just stared off into the distance, trying to blink his tears away, meanwhile crushing Elphaba's hand. He couldn't believe this had happened… 'Why did he go after Avaric? Why did he do that?' he demanded in a slightly higher voice than usual.

Elphaba stared at the neatly polished hospital floor. 'It's my fault,' she whispered. 'It was because of what Avaric tried to do to _me _the other day that Fiyero got so mad at him.'

Cohvu squeezed her hand even tighter. 'That's not true, El. You even tried to stop him.' But then he realised it _was_, to some extent, true. Fiyero had flown off the handle because Avaric had almost killed Elphaba… the girl he was in love with.

So it was true, then. People in love really did crazy things.

He just hoped that this crazy thing wouldn't be the last thing the prince would ever do.

'It's not your fault,' he repeated softly. 'It's no one's fault. It just happened.'

Elphaba didn't make a sound. Cohvu fell silent again as well, a pair of gray eyes and a pair of brown ones fixed on the doors at the other side of the room.

He broke the silence again. 'How long do you think it will take?'

'How should I know?' she snapped, but she immediately regretted it upon seeing the hurt look in Cohvu's eyes. 'Cohvu… I'm sorry,' she apologised softly. 'I didn't mean it like that.'

He shook his head. 'It's okay. I understand.'

The silence seemed to be deafening, the wait feeling like it lasted forever. How long did surgery take? One hour, two? Cohvu had once heard about a girl that had been in surgery for over eight hours after a severe accident – could that happen to Yero? Was the length of the surgery an indication of how bad his injuries were?

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a soft, strangled sound that he couldn't place right away. He looked around him, only to find Elphaba right next to him, sobbing quietly.

'Oh, El…' He put his arms around her and hugged her, allowing her to bury her face in his shoulder and cry. She still barely made a sound, but he felt her shaking and trembling as the sobs racked her body. He pulled her closer, rubbing soothing circles on her back. 'He'll be okay, El,' he whispered. 'Just wait and see. He'll be just fine.'

She didn't respond. He didn't expect her to. She knew as well as he did that he was just saying that in an attempt to reassure her, but he didn't even believe his own words.

After a while, she calmed down, and he shifted a little. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder and her hand firmly grasping his, as she fixed her now red and puffy eyes back on the doors. What was taking so long? How long had it even been? She had lost all track of time by now.

Cohvu absently stroked her hair, squeezing her hand about as hard as she was squeezing his. He wasn't sure how long they sat there, saying nothing, just waiting and silently comforting one another.

When there were footsteps approaching, they both looked up, hearts pounding, but the sound didn't come from the hallway across from them; it came from outside. Just then, the doors they had entered through opened, and Lori and Hamold came in, both of them looking pale and utterly shocked.

As soon as Lori saw Elphaba and Cohvu sitting there, she burst into tears, and Hamold wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. 'Where is he?' he asked over his wife's head. 'What happened?'

Cohvu quickly told them everything he knew, and Hamold nodded, gently guiding his wife to the chair next to Elphaba. He looked at them. 'How long has it been?'

Elphaba shrugged limply, and Cohvu shook his head. 'No idea,' he said, sounding tired. 'We didn't exactly keep track of time.'

'Too long,' muttered Elphaba, and Hamold reached out to squeeze her shoulder. She looked up at him.

'It's going to be alright,' he promised her. 'Yero is a strong young man.'

She didn't say anything, just turned away from him. Why did everyone suddenly feel the need to say that? That everything was going to be alright? Why did they say that when they didn't know it for sure?

Lori wiped her eyes and her nose with a handkerchief, but when she saw the empty, almost dead look in Elphaba's eyes, fresh tears sprang to her own eyes. 'Oh, sweetheart…' She hugged the green girl. Elphaba hugged her back, though she refused to let herself cry again. Crying never got anyone anywhere, and it wouldn't get her anywhere now.

Then the waiting started again. Every now and then, one of them would sniffle softly; and Hamold offered to get food and drinks a few times, but no one was hungry.

Finally, after what seemed to be forever, the doors opened and a doctor came out. 'Are you Mr. and Mrs. Tiggular?'

'Yes,' Hamold said quickly. 'I am Hamold, this is my wife Lori.'

The doctor shook their hands. 'My name is Benerd Gopa,' he introduced himself. 'I performed the surgery on your son.'

'How is he?' Lori burst out, not able to hold it in any longer. 'Will he be okay?'

'The surgery was a success,' Gopa replied. He looked at the King and Queen seriously. 'Unfortunately, however, his life is still in danger.'

Hamold looked pale and Lori choked out, 'What's wrong with him?'

'He has a sprained wrist, some cracked ribs, and some other superficial wounds,' the doctor explained. 'But the thing we're most worried about is his head. He has a concussion, but he also has a severe head wound that might be worse than it looks. We will know more once he wakes up.'

'When will that be?' asked Cohvu anxiously. The doctor shook his head. 'We don't know that for sure.'

'Can we see him?' asked Hamold, and the doctor nodded. 'You and your wife can.'

Elphaba's face fell and Cohvu demanded, 'What about us?'

'I'm sorry,' Gopa apologised. 'Only his family is allowed with him right now.'

Cohvu looked defeated, but just then, Elphaba blurted out, 'We're his brother and sister.'

The doctor looked at her sympathetically. 'I'm sorry, girl – I know you want to see him, but I also know that Prince Fiyero is an only child,' he told her gently.

'Cousins?' Cohvu tried weakly. The doctor shook his head with a gentle smile.

Cohvu looked at Elphaba. He could see the sadness, almost despair, in her eyes, and in a fraction of a clock-tick, he made a decision.

He shoved her forward. 'She's Fiyero's fiancée.'

Elphaba looked at him, surprised, but Cohvu didn't waver. 'If I can't see him, surely _she _can?' he said pleadingly. 'Please?'

The doctor hesitated. 'I didn't hear anything about-'

'It's not official yet,' Lori interrupted him, putting her arm around Elphaba's shoulders protectively. 'But it's true.'

Gopa nodded. He didn't _really _believe what they were saying, but he, too, could see that this girl really cared about the prince, and the pleading looks of her and the others made him cave. 'Alright, then. Follow me, please.' He turned and walked towards the door, Lori and Hamold behind him.

'Are you sure?' Elphaba whispered to Cohvu, and he squeezed her hands. 'Just go with it, El. I know how badly you want to see him. Now at least one of us can.' He smiled sadly at him. 'Give him my love.'

'I will.' She hugged him tightly. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.' He ushered her off. 'Now go.'

She quickly ran after Fiyero's parents and the doctor, following them through a hallway and into a hospital room. Lori sucked in her breath when she saw Fiyero, tears coming to her eyes once again. 'Oh, Yero…'

Elphaba could only stare at him. There was a bandage around his head, and his face, arms, and shoulders were covered in bruises. Another bandage went all the way around his ribs, and there seemed to be tubes everywhere. She swallowed, but the lump in her throat just wouldn't go away.

Lori went to sit next to him, taking his hand and kissing his forehead. Hamold stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders.

Elphaba slowly moved closer to the other side of the bed, lowering herself onto a chair. 'Hi, Yero,' she whispered. 'Cohvu sends his love.'

There was a flickering of eyelids, but the prince didn't wake up.

'What happens when he does wake up?' asked Hamold quietly.

'Then we'll have to perform some tests to see if there is any brain damage, and if so, how bad it is,' Doctor Gopa answered. 'But I have to be honest with you, sir – it doesn't look good. Even if there's no brain damage, he lost a lot of blood…' He shook his head.

_Brain damage_. The word started dancing around in her brain, blinding her and taking away her breath. She closed her eyes for a moment. Gripping his hand firmly, she leaned forward to rest her forehead against his temple. 'Don't do this, Yero,' she whispered desperately. 'Just come back… please?'

'What… what do you mean, not good?' Lori choked out tearfully, looking up at the doctor. Gopa looked at her, trying to deliver the blow as gently as possible.

'It means…' He shook his head. 'It means he might not wake up at all.'

Lori gasped, then turned to Hamold. He folded her into his arms as she cried into his shirt, tears coming to his own eyes as well.

Elphaba buried her face in Fiyero's neck, as if she could hide from the world that way. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening… could it?

She raised her hand, tentatively touching the bandage around his head with her fingertips. Despite her determination not to cry, she felt tears stinging her eyes again. She wiped them away and took a deep, shuddering breath. She was not going to give up on him. He would wake up again. She had to believe that.

Her fingers brushed the spot at the back of his head where his head wound was, hidden from view by the bandage; and suddenly, there was a strange tingling sensation shooting up her arm. Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes widened as tiny green sparks started dancing around her fingertips. She had no idea what was happening, what she was doing, but for some reason, she just couldn't pull her hand away.

'Elphaba?' she heard Hamold asking her, sounding concerned. 'Are you alright?' She realised she had closed her eyes and she was shaking, but she couldn't help it. The tingles kept shooting up her arm, spreading through her entire body, green sparks springing from her fingers.

When the feeling subsided, she opened her eyes and held her breath.


	15. Chapter 15 Can I Open My Eyes

**AN: Does anyone, by the way, recognise the titles of this chapter and the previous one? Any Glee fans, perhaps? I listened to the song endlessly after I heard that Cory Monteith had died...**

**Fae Tiggular: I get why you were confused... I just figured that Lori and Hamold were there as Fiyero's parents, not really as King and Queen, just worried about their son, and so in my head, the doctor just kind of treated them like any other patient's parents, without all the titles and stuff. Does that make sense? It made more sense in my head :P.**

**Anywho, thank you all SO MUCH for reading and reviewing, I love you all! (Still not in a creepy way.)**

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**Chapter 15. Can I open my eyes?**

His eyes were open.

The moment she opened her own eyes, that was the first thing she noticed. He was watching her with those sapphire blue depths of him that she had feared she would never see again, and she stared back at him, shocked. Then he opened his mouth and croaked, 'Fae?'

That was enough to make her lose it completely. She pretty much flung herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and clinging to him almost desperately as she burst into tears.

Fiyero blinked a few times, but wrapped his arms around her, gently holding her to him. His mother was crying, too, and even his Dad's eyes were suspiciously misty as he moved closer to the bed and squeezed his son's hand. 'Yero…'

Doctor Gopa and Hamold almost literally had to peel Elphaba off him so that he could be examined. The King and Queen, as well as Elphaba, had to leave the room as Gopa and a few nurses worked on the prince. They waited in the hallway anxiously, Hamold constantly pacing up and down and Elphaba finally giving in and chewing her nails nervously.

After what felt like hours, the door opened again and the doctor came out, looking utterly confused.

'And?' asked Lori anxiously. 'Is he alright?'

Gopa shook his head. 'He… he's fine,' he said in obvious wonder. 'Well, not literally 'fine', but… but there doesn't seem to be any brain damage… none whatsoever. And his concussion…' He shook his head again. 'I would have _sworn _that it was much worse than this, and also that his head wound was much more severe,' he admitted. 'Something must have gone wrong somewhere… results gotten mixed up… there must have been a mistake earlier.'

Then he looked up at them again. 'You may see him again now,' he told them. 'His life no longer appears to be in danger… if you want, you can ask the other boy in here, too,' he offered, and Hamold nodded.

'I'll go get him,' Elphaba volunteered. She was dying to see Fiyero again, but at least _she _knew that he would be alright now, while Cohvu was still waiting for any news about his best friend.

She hurriedly ran off towards the waiting room, where he was still sitting on a chair, staring off into the distance. When she burst through the doors, he looked up. Before he had a chance to say anything, however, she had already jumped him, hugging him tightly.

Elphaba wasn't really one for voluntary hugs, with the exception of when she was extremely upset, like today; and so for a moment, it made Cohvu fear the worst. When he pulled back to look at her, however, he noticed that her eyes were shining.

'He's awake!' she told him happily. 'He's awake and he's going to be fine, Cohvu! The doctor said there is no lasting damage done!'

A wave of relief washed over him and this time, it was him who hugged Elphaba. 'Thank Oz,' he muttered into her curtain of black hair. 'Thank Oz…'

She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her. 'Come on,' she said. 'You can come and see him.'

Lori and Hamold quietly talked to Gopa, discussing what would happen next. 'He will need to rest a lot,' the doctor warned them. 'He can't move around too much, and he will need to come back a few times so that we can check on him, but otherwise… I think he's well enough for you to take him home.'

Lori burst into tears again and Hamold rubbed her back soothingly. Cohvu grinned at his friend. 'Do you hear that, Mr. Prince? You can come home with us!'

Fiyero managed a grin in reply. 'You just wait and see,' he muttered. 'Give me a few days and I can kick your ass again.'

Cohvu rolled his eyes. 'Just make sure to let your ribs heal before you try,' he advised the prince seriously, and Fiyero chuckled softly, grimacing when pain jolted through his ribs. 'Ouch.'

'Careful,' Doctor Gopa warned him as he approached them again, but Fiyero just gave the doctor another one of his lopsided grins. 'I'll be fine, doc.' Then his face darkened. 'Unlike the person that caused me to end up here in the first place. What happened to him, anyway?'

'He left,' replied Cohvu. 'But he really did feel guilty about what happened, Yero. He never meant for this to happen, and he never wanted to kill Elphaba, either. Sure, he's annoying and obnoxious, but he's not heartless. He's not a _murderer_. And you should let it go,' he warned his friend. 'You wanted revenge the first time, and look where that got you.'

Fiyero growled. 'When I'm done with him, he's going to have a lot more to worry about than a few broken ribs.'

'Shut up!' Elphaba suddenly snapped, shoving her chair back and rising to her feet, eyes glimmering dangerously. 'Shut _up_, Fiyero! Here I was, all this time, thinking that you _had _a brain somewhere down there, but clearly I was wrong. You're an idiot, Fiyero Tiggular. You're an Oz-forsaken _idiot_. Avaric only tried to apologise to me, so why did you chase him in the first place? You almost got yourself _killed_! And now you just want to go and try again? Why? So that this time, you _really _end up with brain damage? Or dead? Is that what you want?'

She was fuming, and Lori and Hamold, as well as Cohvu, kept quiet. They all knew what Elphaba could be like when she got mad, and they also knew that the sensible thing to do was just to stay in the background and let her fume.

Doctor Gopa must have realised this, too, because he didn't say a word. Fiyero, however, didn't have as much common sense… or maybe he just didn't care if Elphaba exploded.

'Fae, calm down,' he said with a roll of his eyes. 'You're being overdramatic. Brain damage? Seriously? I have a few broken _ribs_, Fae – it's not that bad!'

'Not that bad?' she echoed, disbelief flashing across her face. She slammed her hands on either side of the bed and raised her deadly gaze to meet his. 'Fiyero,' she said in a low voice. 'You arrived here in a pool of your own blood. We've been waiting for _hours _while they performed surgery on you, and when they came to get us, they told us that you might die. They told us that you most likely _had _brain damage. It's nothing less than a miracle that you got away with some broken bones. But do _not_,' her grip on the sheets tightened, 'tell me that I'm being overdramatic. Not to mention that that's very rich, coming from you, because _who _just went after a boy that was only trying to apologise?'

'He wasn't trying to apologise, he was trying to-'

'Stop it, Fiyero.' She backed off, slumping down into a chair. 'Just stop it.'

The moment she sat down, however, she rose to her feet again. 'You know what?' she said tiredly. 'I need some air.'

With that, she strode out of the room.

Fiyero looked at his parents, uncertain. 'Is that true?' he asked in a small voice. 'Did I almost die?'

Lori nodded, tears in her eyes, as she took his hand; and he paled a little. 'But…'

'She's right,' Hamold said quietly, sitting down on his son's other side. 'You got very, very lucky. But you scared us all to death, Yero. And I understand why you got mad at Avaric, I really do, but Cohvu and Elphaba told me that he wasn't trying to do anything to you… so why did you try to do something to _him_?'

'I know why,' Cohvu spoke up grimly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room towards him. He moved to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, looking at his friend pointedly.

'You're in love with her, and that's why you did it,' he said. 'Because Avaric almost killed the girl you loved.'

Silence filled the room for a short moment, before he continued, 'But Yero… it was an _accident_. She forgave Avaric, we all did, and you should do that, too, before you get yourself killed over it!'

'You scared us to death, Yero,' Lori added quietly, squeezing his hand. He looked at her. 'I'm sorry.'

She laughed softly. 'It's okay,' she assured him, hugging him. 'Just don't… don't do it again. Ever.'

'I promise.'

'Let's get you home now, shall we?' Hamold offered. Fiyero nodded, grimacing. 'Please. I hate hospitals.'

Hamold laughed and looked at Doctor Gopa. 'Is there any paperwork we need to fill in?' he asked, and the man nodded. 'Just follow me, please.'

'I'll go find Elphaba,' Cohvu offered, before dashing from the room.

* * *

He found the green girl in the hospital garden, sitting on a bench with her knees drawn to her chest and her chin resting on top of them. She looked up when she heard him approach and he went to sit next to her. 'Hey.'

'Hey.' She sighed. 'I'm sorry for snapping at Fiyero. I didn't mean it like that-'

'No, don't apologise,' he cut her off. He picked up a few pebbles and tossed them into the pond a few meters away. 'You were absolutely right. He knows that, too. He just needed someone to tell him that.'

'Okay.' It came out as a sigh, and when he looked at her, he realised she didn't look relieved. 'What else is wrong, El?'

'What makes you think anything else is wrong?' she asked flatly. He just raised an eyebrow and she sighed again, opened her mouth, then closed it again and shook her head.

'Hey.' He touched her arm. 'I'm your friend, remember? You can tell me anything.'

She looked at him sceptically. 'You won't run away screaming?'

He chuckled. 'No. I promise.'

They were both quiet for a while. Then she spoke up, softly. 'I think… I think I healed him.'

Cohvu looked at her, slightly bewildered. 'Who? What?'

'Fiyero.' She sighed and stared at the pond. 'I touched his head, where the wound was, and… and then it started tingling… there were these weird green sparks, or something… and then he woke up.' She bit her lower lip. 'Doctor Gopa is still debating whether there has been a mistake or just a miraculous recovery, but I'm pretty sure that I had something to do with it.'

'El,' Cohvu said gently. 'If that's true, that's amazing!'

She looked at him as if he had gone completely crazy. 'No, it's not! How can you say that?' she demanded in a high voice. 'First I make all the water in the room explode when I get mad, and now this? What is _happening_? What does it mean? Am I a witch? A sorceress? Because I don't think so, Cohvu.' She curled into herself again. 'I think I'm just… weird.' She let out a soft, mirthless laugh. 'Perhaps Galinda is right and I really dropped down from the moon. It sounds the most plausible to me… I don't even really think I'm human anymore.'

'Elphaba,' he said firmly, grasping her arms. 'You're human. Of course you're human. People don't drop down from the moon and you know that.' He paused. 'You just have… powers, apparently. You're different. Special. There's nothing wrong with that.'

She cackled – a mirthless, spine-chilling sound that made Cohvu swallow. 'That's where you're wrong, Cohvu,' she said quietly, almost ominously.

'There is so, so much wrong with that.'

* * *

After that, she barely said anything else for days.

Cohvu tried to coax her into talking to him, but she refused to say anything else about the subject. She didn't even talk to Fiyero or his parents as they all travelled back to Adurin Iir in a carriage, even though Lori and Hamold both tried to engage her in conversation.

When they arrived at the castle, Elphaba hung back as Fiyero was moved to his room; but when she had assured herself of the fact that he was fine and being taken care of, she left and didn't come back for the rest of the day.

'Where's Fae?' Fiyero asked about four days after he had gotten home from the hospital. 'I haven't seen her at all since I got back.'

Lori, who was sitting with him, sighed and shook her head. 'I don't know, Yero,' she answered truthfully. 'Every day when she comes home from school, she either locks herself in her bedroom or the library to study, or she goes out for a walk on the beach, and she barely talks to us at all.'

Fiyero furrowed his brow. 'Is she still upset because I went after Avaric?'

Lori shrugged helplessly. 'I don't know. She won't talk to me – or to any of us, really.'

Suddenly, Cohvu spoke up from a corner of the room. 'I think she feels guilty.'

Lori and Fiyero turned to gape at him. 'What?' Fiyero choked out. 'What for?'

'She told me this when we were in the waiting room together,' Cohvu replied quietly. 'While you were in surgery. She thought it was her fault… that you got hurt. It was because of her that you went after Avaric and she feels guilty about that.'

Fiyero was shocked.

'I don't think that's all of it, though,' Cohvu continued, and he looked at Lori. 'Is it true that she healed Fiyero?' he asked bluntly.

The Queen hesitated, then nodded. 'I… I think so,' she said faintly. 'I haven't given it too much thought – I was so concerned with regard to Fiyero's health - but now that you mention it… and after what happened the other day, when she got mad… I think she did.' She looked at Cohvu and nodded. 'We established last time that she has magic powers,' she said simply. 'I guess her power over water isn't the only power she has.'

Fiyero, meanwhile, was gawking at them. '_Elphaba healed me_?!'

Lori nodded, brushing some hair away from his face. 'I think she saved your life, Yero.'

He was completely stunned, and unable to speak for a moment. She saved his life… had she really healed him? He couldn't help but shiver as he thought of his parents' grave faces when they told him that what Elphaba had said was true, that it was a miracle that he didn't have brain damage… that he was alive at all.

Was Elphaba the cause of the miracle? It amazed him just to think about it.

'Where did she go?' he asked quietly, and Cohvu nodded towards the window. 'Beach.'

'To think, most likely,' Lori added, smiling softly when she remembered something. 'I used to go for walks on the beach myself, when I needed to think about something.' She looked at both boys gravely. 'It must be hard for her,' she said softly. 'I know she has always felt different, despite the fact that she tries to hide that from me, because she's afraid she will appear ungrateful for what we've done for her… but it must be really difficult, to discover these kinds of things about yourself, things you can't explain and of which you don't know what they mean.'

'It is,' Cohvu agreed. 'She's really struggling with it sometimes. Glin talked to her about it, and so did I, but the truth is that there's not much we can do – we know nothing more about her origins than she herself does.'

Lori sighed heavily. 'I wish I knew how we could help her.'

Suddenly, a flash of lightning lit up the room, and thunder roared in the distance.

Fiyero shivered. 'I hate storms.'

Lori and Cohvu, however, immediately looked at one another in alarm. 'Elphaba!'

Fiyero's eyes widened when he realised what they were saying. 'Oh, Shiz!'

'There's no place to take cover from the rain for miles out there on the beach,' Cohvu said anxiously. 'If she got caught in that downpour…' He didn't finish that sentence, but they all knew what that would mean.

Fiyero jumped out of bed, ignoring the stabs of pain in his ribcage and the pounding in his head. 'I have to find her!'

'Yero,' his mother began, 'the doctor said you can't-'

'I don't care!' he yelled back over his shoulder as he made for the door. 'I have to find her!'

With that, he bolted from the room.

* * *

**Yes, I'm leaving you with a cliffy once again... but I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that the next chapter will FINALLY have some Fiyeraba. And not just friendship Fiyeraba ;).**


	16. Chapter 16 You're My Mirror

**AN: This chapter didn't exactly come off the way I wanted it to, but I tried. And I suppose that since it's Fiyeraba fluff, you won't hate me too much :3.**

**Also, I saw 'Remember Me' for the first time yesterday - has any of you seen that movie? I wasn't too impressed, I thought it was a bit long and it wasn't really going anywhere, but then that THING happened and it left me completely shocked and in tears, so now I love the movie. Sniffle.**

**Other things... Oh, of course! I've decided to post a new Frex Hunters oneshot on Halloween, so if you want to be in it, just send me a review or a PM and let me know! You may include preferred weapons or other things that I can use, if you want to :).**

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**Chapter 16. You're my mirror**

At least he had the common sense to put on a raincoat before he went outside, figuring that if he _did _find Elphaba, he was going to have to protect her from the rain somehow. He quickly grabbed a blanket from the couch in the living room and tucked it under the coat – just in case.

He ran outside, ignoring the pain in his torso as he made his way down the beach, frantically looking around for any flash of green. 'Elphaba!' he called, but there was no answer.

He jumped over some debris that had washed ashore and ran on, constantly looking around and calling her name. He figured that if she had gone for a walk more than half an hour ago, she could have come quite far; he would go on a few miles or so and then go back to see if perhaps she had gone the other way, but he knew that she usually came to this particular part of the beach, so he kept his ears and eyes wide open.

He reached the spot where the sand turned into rocks, and he was about to turn around, when he suddenly remembered something. He knew there to be a cave around here somewhere. It wasn't big, just big enough for two or three persons to sit next to each other; but it was big enough for her to take shelter from the rain. It was at least worth a try.

He moved in the direction he remembered the cave to be, almost blinded now by the curtain of rain falling down around him. Lightning flashed again and he cringed, but it illuminated the rocks around him and allowed him to catch a glimpse of green inside the cave.

Relieved, he made his way over there, crawling into the small cave as well, though he was careful to stay away from her, him being dripping wet and all. 'Fae?'

She looked up and stared at him for a while. She was a little pale, there were angry red spots covering her arms and face, and she was obviously cold – her lips were blue and she was shivering; but other than that, she seemed to be okay.

'Yero?' she asked, stunned. 'What in Oz are you doing here? I thought you weren't supposed to be out of bed-'

'I'm not,' he cut her off, carefully removing his raincoat and carelessly tossing it into a corner. Thankfully, it had managed to keep his clothes and hair dry, and the blanket, as well. 'But I saw the rain, and Cohvu said you were out here…'

Now she looked completely incredulous. 'You came out here, in this storm, with broken ribs… for _me_?' she asked in utter disbelief, and he looked at her as if she was saying something really stupid. 'Yes. Of course.'

There was a lump in her throat suddenly, and she swallowed. He shook his head slightly. 'Fae, you were outside in the rain and you're allergic to water. I was worried sick – we all were. We thought you might have…' He swallowed and didn't finish his sentence. She moved a bit closer to him, touching his arm. He looked at her and she said softly, 'Thank you.'

He rolled his eyes. 'You're my best friend, Fae,' he reminded her. 'Of course I was worried and of course I wanted to find you.'

Now that she was closer, he could _feel _her shivering, and he spread out the blanket and wrapped it around her. 'Here.'

She flashed him a grateful smile, and he pulled her closer, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm her. When a soft whimper of pain escaped her lips, he immediately stopped. 'I'm sorry.'

'It's okay,' she said, still shivering. She moved her arm from under the blanket to show him the tiny burns the rain had left there. 'The rain took me by surprise,' she explained when she saw his horrified face. 'I couldn't find shelter right away.'

'I wish I had remembered to bring your oils,' he muttered, but she shook her head. 'It's fine. Or, well, it will be once I get back.'

She looked at him, concerned. 'What about your ribs?'

'They'll live,' he said dismissively. She didn't seem convinced, but she didn't push the matter; instead, she hugged her knees to her chest, still shivering despite the blanket.

'Elphaba?'

She looked up, faintly alarmed at him using her full name. His gaze was serious for once as he looked back at her. 'Would you tell me what's going on?' he asked quietly.

She blinked. 'What do you mean?' she asked, confused, and he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. 'Look, Fae… You haven't been behaving like yourself lately, and I'd like to know why. I have my suspicions, and Mom and Cohvu have theirs, but I want to hear it from you.'

Now it was her turn to sigh, and she stared outside at the pouring rain again. For a long moment, she didn't say anything, and he thought she was just going to ignore the question; but then she softly admitted, 'I'm just… confused.'

He waited for her to say something else, to elaborate, and she paused shortly before doing so. 'Has Cohvu told you what happened?' she asked.

'About you saving my life with your magic?' He took her hand and squeezed it. 'Yes. Thank you.'

She pulled her hand away. 'You shouldn't thank me,' she protested. 'I had no idea what I was doing. Fiyero… I _healed _you. Using _magic_. These strange things keep happening to me, and I just…' She shuddered a little, and this time it had nothing to do with her being cold. 'Yero?'

'Yeah?'

She bit her lip. 'Do you remember… the other day, when I got stuck under the water and you saved me?'

He nodded. 'Of course I do.' He furrowed his brow. 'Does this have anything to do with your behaviour afterwards?' he asked. 'I figured you were that quiet because of what happened with Governor Thropp the other day, but…'

She shook her head. 'That wasn't all of it,' she admitted, but she didn't elaborate, just drew her knees closer to her chest and rested her chin on top of them.

'So what happened?' he prodded gently.

She thought about it. Should she tell him? She wasn't sure how he would react. Wasn't it freakish enough that she made water go crazy and was able to heal people? Wouldn't this just be the final proof for Fiyero, and everyone else, of how weird and… _non-human _she really was?

He waited patiently for her to reply, and finally, she gave in, her voice barely audible. 'I breathed.'

Now he looked even more confused than before. 'What?'

She didn't look at him. 'I breathed,' she repeated, her voice still barely above a whisper. 'When I got stuck, I panicked, and I took in a gulp of water… only I didn't choke. I didn't drown. I could breathe, Fiyero. Sure, it felt strange, and it only caused me to panic even more, but I'm absolutely sure that's what happened. I could breathe under the water.'

He was completely stunned. He didn't know what to say.

'That's the real reason why I was so panicky when you brought me up again,' she continued quietly. 'Not because I almost drowned… because I _didn't _drown.'

She huddled in the blanket, as if to hide herself from him. 'It's why I was so quiet afterwards, too… I was just… I don't know what to think of myself, and I was worried about what _you _all would think… I mean…'

'Fae.' He took both her hands in his and squeezed them softly. 'We're not going to think differently about you because of something like this! You having these magical powers… it's nothing less than amazing. But it doesn't change anything about who you are or the way we look at you.'

She looked up at him with huge, dark eyes. 'Really?'

He rolled his eyes. 'And then you call _me _brainless? Really, Fae, sometimes I just don't understand you.'

She sighed and averted her eyes again. 'Sometimes I don't understand myself, either.'

'Everyone has that sometimes,' he assured her, moving closer to her again and gingerly putting his arm around her in another attempt to warm her. She stiffened at first, but then she relaxed a little and leaned against him.

They were quiet for a while, just listening to the rain drumming down on the rock ceiling of the cave. Then she suddenly whispered, 'I'm sorry that I said you didn't have a brain. You know, back at the hospital.'

He laughed. 'Fae, you've been telling me for years that I don't have a brain, and you're right, too. Why would you suddenly feel guilty about saying that?'

She curled into him a little bit more. 'Because,' she said in a small voice. 'It's much less funny once a doctor tells you that the one you've been joking about will most likely have brain damage.'

He pulled her a little bit closer, tucking the blanket in around her. 'I'm sorry I scared you.'

'I'm sorry it happened.'

'That wasn't your fault,' he told her sternly. 'And don't you even dare to think otherwise. What happened that day was only more proof of my brainlessness.'

She scowled at him, but at the same time, she looked a little pained. 'Don't say that.'

'I'm fine, Fae,' he whispered, rubbing her back. 'No lasting damage done. I'll be back to my old self in no time.'

'I know,' she said in a choked voice. 'But there was so much blood, and then you closed your eyes and…' A single sob escaped her throat. 'And then the doctor came and told us what he thought would happen, and… and it was just so awful…' She hiccupped and buried her face in his shirt. 'I thought you were going to die!' she cried, and his heart broke. Elphaba, his parents, Cohvu, they were all right – he _had _been an idiot for just going after Avaric for no real reason. And even afterwards, when he had woken up again, he hadn't really thought about what it must have been like for his family and friends until Elphaba had started yelling at him.

'I'm sorry,' he whispered, stroking her hair. 'Lurline, I'm sorry, Fae.'

She just burrowed further into his chest and didn't answer, and he held her close as he felt her body tremble against his. He didn't think he had ever before felt this guilty about something – or, well, about _everything_, really – in his entire life.

Eventually, she calmed down a little, but she didn't move away, only adjusted her position a little so that she was leaning against him with her head on his shoulder and the blanket pulled tightly around her. He gently rubbed her back. 'You okay?'

She made a muffled sound that apparently meant something along the lines of 'fine', and without even thinking about it, he pressed his lips into her hair. Immediately, he felt her tense a little and she raised her head, wariness clearly visible in her eyes. 'What was that for?'

He wasn't really sure what to say to that, so he just shrugged. 'Because I felt like it?' he tried weakly.

She narrowed her eyes dangerously. 'Fiyero…'

'Elphaba…' he mimicked her. He took her hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing it softly. 'I think… No, I _know_… Oz, I can't say this.'

'Can't say what?' She sat up straight, looking worried now. 'Yero?'

He looked at her. He always marvelled at how well she knew him, how she could read his mind, but Cohvu and Galinda had been right – she obviously couldn't read his mind when it came to this. He almost wished she could, so that he didn't have to say it, but he knew he had to, sooner or later, and now seemed as good a time as any.

She looked up at him, and he asked bluntly, 'Do you promise that you won't run away?'

She raised one eyebrow. 'Yero, it's raining,' she pointed out. 'If I run away, I'll most likely die. I don't know what you're going to say, but I doubt it will be so awful that I would want to kill myself.'

He had to chuckle slightly at that. 'I sincerely hope not,' he said, not entirely joking. 'But I don't mean literally, or just right now… I mean in general. I need you to know this, but I don't want it to ruin what we have… you know, our friendship… and stuff.'

Now she really looked worried, and he shifted a little, so that they were both sitting on their knees, facing one another. He reached up with his hand, hesitated for a moment, then moved it towards her face and gingerly tucked a strand of loose raven hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again to look at him. 'I promise.'

He took a deep breath and mustered all of his courage. 'Fae…' Oz, he was so bad with words when it came down to it.

Then he realised with a small jolt that he didn't have to _tell _her, per se. He could also show her.

Praying that he wouldn't have to return to Adurin Iir with a handprint on his cheek, he leaned in closer, his heart pounding in his chest.

Elphaba's own heart was hammering as well when she realised what he was doing – or, well, what he was most likely doing – but she didn't stop him. She wanted this. She couldn't believe _he _would want this, but one look into his sapphire blue eyes left her completely incapable of any conscious thought.

And then he kissed her, and it was like she was flying.

Somehow, his hand ended up tangling in her hair and her arms ended up around his neck. He realised she wasn't going to slap him and kissed her a bit more confidently. Then he slowly pulled away, leaving them both a little dizzy.

'And what was _that_ for?' she asked, trying to sound casual about it, but her voice was trembling a little and she sounded breathless, which gave her away.

He just grinned at her, absolutely sure that he would never stop grinning again. 'Again,' he said cheekily. 'Because I felt like it.'

She just stared at him.

He chuckled and pulled her closer again. She didn't protest as he rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. 'I think… I think I'm falling in love with you,' he confessed.

The few clock-ticks that passed between his confession and her reply were the longest clock-ticks of his life. He saw her eyes widen, but apparently she was rendered speechless, because she didn't respond right away. He thought it ironic – she _always _knew what to say, and now that he wanted her to say something more than ever, she stayed quiet.

Finally, she opened her mouth and he held his breath.

'You,' she said, having regained her composure a little, 'are _such _an idiot.'

He just kept on looking at her, not sure about what to make of that answer; but then, she let out a strangled laugh and pretty much threw herself at him, winding her arms around his neck again and kissing him back.

She had imagined this for so long, yet she hadn't dared to let herself believe, or even dream, that it could come true someday. She had always thought she wasn't that girl. For Oz's sake, he was a _prince_, and a handsome one at that, while she was just a strange green girl with even stranger magical powers and a water allergy to top it all off. She was a freak. An aberration. How could he possibly feel this way about her?

But he did. She could see it in his eyes when he looked at her. She had always been able to read him like an open book, and what she saw now, the relief flooding his eyes, convinced her of the fact that he was being serious. She had no idea how, or why, but it was true.

Unless he was just a really good actor. She pulled away, studied him for a moment, then started shaking her head. 'Yero, how could you _possibly_-'

He just cut her off with another kiss, taking her by surprise and causing a Galinda-like squeak to escape her, which made him smile. He looked into her eyes. 'Don't do that,' he begged her. 'I know how insecure you are when it comes to these sorts of things, and I know you don't believe that anyone could feel this way about you…'

She stared at him, shocked that he knew – did he read _minds_?! – but the she realised who must have told him. 'Was it Galinda?' she asked, gritting her teeth.

He hesitated. 'Well, technically it was Cohvu,' he conceded a bit sheepishly, 'but he had heard it from Galinda, so…'

Elphaba's eyes narrowed. 'That girl is _so _dead.'

He chuckled and shook his head. 'Don't be too hard on her,' he said. 'I, for one, am glad she told us.'

Elphaba buried her face in her hands and heaved a deep sigh. 'But how, Fiyero?' she asked, her voice sounding a little muffled. 'I don't understand.'

'Yes, well, sometimes you don't have to understand everything,' he told her, wrapping his arm around her still shivering form and pulling her closer. 'Sometimes you just have to feel.'

Suddenly, uncertainty sparked in his own eyes. 'Only if you feel the same way about me, that is-'

She rolled her eyes. 'Because me kissing you back wasn't a clear enough answer for you?' she quipped, and he chuckled. 'Point taken.'

Outside, the storm was still roaring, and Elphaba shuddered when she looked at the gallons and gallons of water pouring down from the sky. She pulled the blanket tighter around her and moved a little closer to Fiyero, seeking out his body warmth. 'Looks like we're going to be stuck here for another while longer.'

He leaned down and softly brushed his lips against hers again, smiling at the way her eyes fluttered shut when he did that. He couldn't believe this was happening, and perhaps it wasn't – perhaps this was yet another good dream and he would wake up in his bed alone. But if this was a dream, he was going to enjoy every moment of it.

'I don't mind,' he murmured in reply to her remark, stroking her cheek, then moving his fingers up to run them through her long hair. She sighed and leaned into him. It was like he took away all of her common sense in one touch. She couldn't really think around him, no matter how hard she tried.

'Really?' she asked softly, still uncertain, but he just kissed her again. 'Really.' He grinned when he realised that he had finally told her how he felt, and not only had she not slapped him, she even returned his feelings. If this was a dream, he never, _ever _wanted to wake up again.

He played with the soft strands of raven hair, twirling them around his fingers. Then he leaned down to plant a soft kiss on her hair.

'I have you right where I want you.'

* * *

**So... thoughts? Comments? Favourite lines? Let me know!**


	17. Chapter 17 I Really Fell For You

**AN: I've already got a fairly large team of Frex Hunters by now :P. Really, it's such a _stupid _thing, and yet you love it all so much xD. But everyone who asked to be in is now in. (So far that's EmeraldReine, Fae Tiggular, Siarenthander, Elphaba'sGirl, Failey, BlueD, Scarlett the Squiddy, NiatheWickedLover, 1katiemariee, and Elphiesglinda.)**

**Elphaba'sGirl: Nope, but you're pretty close.**

**Fae Tiggular: Sorry, Musicgal still holds the record! And not even because she added a second review just to secure her position because she felt threatened by you - I believe I have once gotten an even longer 'aww'-review, which actually was so long that it got cut off at the end because the review was too long to be posted :P. Love your enthusiasm, though!**

**Soooo, more fluff & some more doubts on Elphaba's part this chapter... next one will be a little more action - The Conversation between Elphie and Frex. Thank you all so much!**

* * *

**Chapter 17. I really fell for you**

They sat together in comfortable silence for a while, leaning against each other with the blanket wrapped around the both of them as they watched the pouring rain outside.

Her mind was reeling. She didn't know what to make of this, what to believe. She wanted to believe him, desperately, that he really was falling in love with her; but at the same time, she found that so _hard _to believe. She was certain no one had ever even _thought _about her that way before, let alone acted like it, but he seemed to be sincere.

'What are you thinking?' she asked quietly, trying to catch a glimpse of what was on his mind.

He chuckled softly. 'I was just thinking that I'm so glad you didn't slap me.'

She blinked. 'Why in Oz would I slap you?' she demanded, and he shook his head, still grinning. 'Face it, Fae. If you hadn't liked me back, I would have just scared you to death by suddenly kissing you, and you probably would have slapped me.'

She thought about that for a moment – would she have? – but in the end, she had to conclude that he was right. 'Yeah…' she admitted.

He chuckled again. 'So I'm glad you didn't.'

She looked away, chewing the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. When he had first started dancing through life, she had thought it would pass in time. When it dragged on for over four years, she had finally started to believe that he would stay like that, that the real Fiyero she knew to be deep down there was lost forever; but then he had regained his common sense again and everything had become just like it had been before, just like it was meant to be…. And now this.

After all those girls he had dated, kissed, gone to parties with, got drunk with… now here he was, with _her_, claiming to be falling in love with her.

And then she realised that _that _was exactly what was bugging her about this whole thing.

'Is it a bet?' she whispered.

He raised his head to look at her, puzzled. 'What?'

'This.' She gestured towards the two of them, scooting away from him as she spoke. 'You kissing me. Is it about some kind of bet you have with a friend of yours? Kiss the green girl, add her to your endless list of girlfriends?'

His eyes widened. 'Fae-'

'That's it, isn't it?' She narrowed her eyes at him. 'You haven't changed at all. That's the only explanation. You're not in love with me – you're just telling me that so that you can make me your next girlfriend, kiss me, perhaps even _sleep _with me – to tell your friends that you bedded the green girl. Is that it? Is that why you're doing this?'

He was completely baffled. She ranted on after that, but he didn't hear most of it; he couldn't really grasp what he had heard already. _She thinks I only want to be with her because of a bet?_

When she paused to take a breath, he said, 'Elphaba.'

She looked up at him, all kinds of contradicting emotions visible on her face and in her eyes.

He moved closer to her. She inched away from him, but found herself unable to go any further; and in that moment, he was actually grateful that it was raining and she couldn't get away, because he was sure she would have ran off otherwise.

'Fae,' he said firmly, taking her hands in his despite her protests. 'How could you possibly think that?'

She tilted her head to the side, eyes still narrowed. 'Are you denying it?'

'Yes. Yes, of course I'm denying it!' He shook his head in disbelief. 'Elphaba, I _have _changed. And I think that deep down, you also know how incredibly _wrong _you are about this! I would never do that to you – or to anyone, for that matter. Never, _ever _have I told any of those girls that I loved them. Ever. But I'm saying it to you. Oz dammit, I _love _you, Elphaba. I love you. And you can think yourself ugly or unworthy or weird or unlovable, but you're wrong. You're completely wrong. Because I _do _love you.'

Now she was staring at him, her eyes even wider than they had been before. He didn't avert his gaze, keeping their eyes locked in an attempt to convey how sincere he was, until she finally looked away.

Then her eyes suddenly shot up at him again. 'Promise?'

He almost laughed out loud. He leaned in closer and moved his hand to her neck, pressing his forehead against hers and looking into her eyes. 'I promise,' he said softly. 'I swear it, on… on my grandmother's grave. No, I swear it on my life.'

She closed her eyes for a moment, regaining her composure. Then she opened them again and the look in his eyes nearly took her breath away.

How could she possibly doubt him?

She nodded. 'Okay,' she said in a small voice, and he leaned in closer and softly kissed her again.

She curled up against him, feeling safe and warm and comfortable for once. He slowly ran his fingers down her spine, grazing her back and playing with her hair, and she sighed. 'Yero?'

He continued to trace patterns on her back. 'Hm?'

She looked up at him. 'How long?'

He immediately understood what she meant and he shifted a little, thinking about it. 'Ever since I stopped dancing through life,' he said finally. 'Even though I think I was already in love with you before that… I just wouldn't let myself see it, because the idea scared me.'

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. 'Apparently, my father and Galinda then made this plan – Dad told me that later. It's why Galinda insisted on Galindafying you before the ball. They thought if they would make you look even more beautiful than usually, and then get us to slow dance together, that I would realise for real that I really do love you.' He smiled softly. 'And it worked.'

'It did?'

He rolled his eyes. 'Fae, come on. You saw me that night. Do you think I stare at _every _girl I see with my mouth wide open?'

She chuckled. 'I guess not,' she conceded. 'But…' She bit her lower lip, staring at the floor. 'To be completely honest, I thought you were looking at someone else like that,' she said quietly. 'I mean, you were standing rather far away, and I just told myself that you were probably staring at someone behind me, or something… I just never thought someone would look at _me _that way.'

'Well, believe it,' he told her, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear, his fingers caressing her cheek. 'Because I'm going to look at you like that for the rest of my life.'

She laughed nervously. 'Fiyero…'

'I'm serious,' he said, his gaze fixed on her face. 'I love you, Fae. And I have never loved anyone like that before, and to be quite honest, I'm scared as hell… But I only have to look at you to know that it's true. I am completely, hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with you.'

A strange, soft sound escaped her lips, and he leaned forward to brush his lips across her jaw line. 'I love you.' Up to her cheek. 'I love you.' Her nose. 'I.' Her forehead. 'Love.' Her lips. 'You. Are we clear?'

She had to laugh at that, but because she was still a little shocked and nervous, it came out as a giggle – and one that Galinda would have been proud of, at that. Horrified, she clasped her hands over her mouth.

He grinned at her. 'Did I just make you… giggle?'

She shook her head wildly. 'Never,' she declared hotly. 'I don't giggle. I don't _ever _giggle. You must have heard it wrong.'

He chuckled, but then he gasped softly and she shot up. 'What's wrong?' she asked urgently. 'Is it your ribs?'

He nodded, making a face. 'Yeah… It's not too bad. It just… comes and goes. Just give me a minute.'

She gently helped him to lie down and sat down next to him. She reached out to lay her hands on his chest, but stopped, fingers hovering mere inches above his body. 'May I?'

'Of course,' he said, grimacing slightly in pain, and she gingerly touched his hurt ribs. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, imagining the weird green sparks she had seen before to dance around her fingers again, healing his broken ribs. She scrunched up her nose in concentration, but nothing happened.

She opened her eyes again and looked down at her hands, disappointed. 'Well… so far my 'amazing' magic powers,' she grumbled.

Fiyero smiled and took her hand, squeezing it. 'At least they worked when it really mattered,' he offered, and she smiled softly at him. 'True.'

She brushed some hair away from his face, but her smile faded when she saw that he really was in pain. 'I should go and get help,' she said quietly. 'Your parents, or a doctor. You weren't even supposed to get out of bed yet…'

'You can't,' he pointed out, shuddering a little. 'It's still raining.'

'I have the raincoat. If I'm careful-'

'No!' He gripped her hand so tightly it hurt. 'Don't,' he begged her. 'Please. I'll be fine.'

She nodded reluctantly and moved to sit behind him, with his head in her lap. She looked outside. 'It looks a bit brighter in the distance. I think it will clear up soon.'

He nodded, his eyes closed. 'Okay.'

They stayed like that for another while, until the rain had stopped and it looked a bit brighter outside; then she helped Fiyero up and slipped her arm around his waist so that he could lean on her.

'I'm fine,' he protested. 'I feel much better already, really.' But of course she didn't buy that.

When Lori saw her son and Elphaba approaching the castle, she quickly hurried downstairs and outside to meet them there, with Cohvu right behind her.

'_Fiyero Hamold Tiggular!_'

Fiyero's eyes widened and he cringed. 'Oh, Shiz.'

Elphaba smiled and squeezed his hand. 'Relax, Yero. She won't murder you.'

'Yet,' he corrected her. 'She'll probably wait until my ribs are healed, and _then _she'll murder me.'

His mother almost pounced on him, hugging him gently, but firmly. 'You are such an idiot!'

Elphaba grinned at the Queen. 'Thank you for supporting me in that claim.'

Fiyero stuck out his tongue, but he swayed a little, and Lori and Cohvu quickly gripped his arms. 'Come on,' his mother said worriedly. 'Let's get you upstairs.'

She turned to look at Elphaba. 'What about you?' she asked in concern. 'Are you alright, sweetheart?'

'I'm fine,' Elphaba assured her. 'The rain barely even touched me.'

'Good.' She moved Fiyero's arm around her neck so that she could hold him up. 'Come on, Yero. Let's get you to bed.'

* * *

Lori forced him to stay in bed after that for at least a few days, leaving the maids to take care of her son so that she herself could continue performing her royal duties. Cohvu stopped by every now and then to check up on his friend, but he wasn't exactly sympathetic.

'Dude,' he declared when Fiyero complained about that. 'It's your own fault you're lying here, really. First you run out onto the street without looking, for absolutely _no _reason, and then, instead of waiting for me or your Mom to set out and look for Elphaba, you storm outside yourself – with broken ribs. Excuse me for not feeling all that bad for you.'

Fiyero pouted, then grinned at his friend. 'Well, if I had waited for you or Mom to look for Elphaba, I never would have gotten around to _kissing her_.'

Cohvu looked confused. 'Your Mom?'

Fiyero chunked a pillow in his direction. 'Elphaba, you idiot!'

Cohvu didn't even mind the pillow hitting him in the head all that much, he was too stunned. 'Wait, wait, wait.' He held up both hands. 'You kissed Elphaba?'

'Multiple times, actually,' Fiyero said smugly, and Cohvu's eyes nearly fell out of his head. 'Dude, how did you do _that_?'

'Well, first I moved closer, then I pursed my lips and levelled my face with hers and-'

He got the pillow he'd thrown before right back into his face. 'Talking about idiots,' Cohvu muttered irritably. 'Come _on_, Yero.'

The prince chuckled. 'Yes, well… It just happened,' he said finally. He quickly told his friend what had happened, exactly, and Cohvu seemed genuinely impressed.

'That's typically you, isn't it?' the blonde boy wanted to know. 'Even when you're sitting in a cold cave in the pouring rain with a concussion and broken ribs, you still manage to seduce a girl.'

Fiyero cracked him a lopsided grin. 'You know me.' Then he sobered. 'Seriously, though… This is different than all of the other girls, Co.'

Cohvu brought his face closer to Fiyero's, narrowing his eyes in a mock threatening way. 'I certainly hope so, Mister.' He jabbed his finger into Fiyero's chest. 'Because I consider Elphaba a sister, and if you break her heart, I'm going to break _your _nose. I did it to Avaric and I can do it to you.'

Fiyero knew that his friends was only partly joking, and normally, Cohvu's threat would have frightened him a little, but now he just nodded. 'I know. And I would deserve that, too.'

Cohvu seemed surprised at that.

'But you won't have to,' Fiyero continued, 'because I have no intention of hurting her. Ever.'

Cohvu let out a low whistle. 'Whoa, Tiggular. You really _have _changed.' Then he grinned at his friend. 'I'm proud of you, dude.'

Fiyero rolled his eyes. 'Thanks, _dude_,' he replied sarcastically.

The prince was bored out of his mind, having to stay in bed all day; and though the visits of Cohvu and his parents certainly cheered him up, the thing he appreciated most, of course, was Elphaba.

Every day when she came home from school, she'd come up to his room right away to pass on any homework he had to do. They usually did their homework together, so that she could help him if needed, and she would spend the rest of the afternoon alternating between studying, helping Lori and Hamold out with small chores or matters they were mulling over, and helping Fiyero with whatever he needed. She swiftly moved in and out of his room, bringing him food and, yes, _books_, because that was how bored he was. She ran a bath for him when he wanted to clean up and made sure he took his medication, and often she would just breezily move around his room to tidy things up, sometimes even softly singing when she was doing so. He was amazed by the change in her, but he was happy about it. Especially since he really loved to hear her sing.

For dinner, Lori, Hamold, and Elphaba – and Cohvu, too, whenever he stayed over – all brought their food upstairs to eat with Fiyero; and after dinner, Elphaba would spend the rest of the evening with him. He wished that was actually as good as it sounded, but the truth was that they didn't spend those evenings being mushy and romantic and kissing all the time – no, she made him study for his finals. And how. Oz, could that girl be bossy. But no complaint left his lips – if she would succeed in getting him to graduate, thus allowing him to go to Shiz with her and Cohvu and Galinda, then who was he to question her methods?

'Fae?' he asked one night, when he had placated her into just sitting together and talk, instead of studying like crazy.

She tucked her legs underneath her, curled up in an armchair. 'Yes?'

'My Mom says that Governor Thropp will arrive at Adurin Iir tomorrow,' he said, and he saw her stiffen a little. 'I was just wondering what you're plan of action is.'

'Well,' she said sarcastically, 'it will _not _involve any form of torture, or locking him up, or tying him down, I can tell you that much.'

Fiyero chuckled, immediately regretting that as a stab of pain shot through his ribs. 'Cohvu will be disappointed.'

She just rolled her eyes, then rested her chin on her fist. 'I'm not sure what I _will _do, though,' she admitted. 'I mean… I just want him to talk to me. Tell me everything. But after last time, when he so abruptly left…'

'If you need any help, I'm right here,' Fiyero offered, and was rewarded with a genuine smile from her. She reached out to take his hand and squeezed it softly. 'Thank you, Yero.'

He beamed at her.

'At first I thought that this was something I needed to do alone,' she said softly. 'After all, it's _my _life this is about. My past, my family. But… but then I realised that I really don't _want _to do this alone.' She bit her lip. 'I mean, what if I find out something that I don't want to hear? That my parents are dead, or that they left _me _for dead because they couldn't get past the fact that I was green? I… I would much rather have someone there with me.'

'I'll be there,' he promised, and she gave him another smile.

They were silent for a while. Then he said, 'That's not what happened.'

Elphaba looked at him inquiringly.

He shook his head. 'I don't believe they left you because you're green,' he clarified. 'I mean, they only figured that out after taking care of you for six years? Come on. I think something else was going on.'

She stared at him in mild amazement. 'You know?' she said in wonder. 'That actually makes sense. If they hated me because I'm green, they would probably have abandoned me when I was a baby, not when I was already six years old. I hadn't even thought of that!' She looked at Fiyero proudly. 'See? I _knew _you had a brain somewhere!'

He made a face at her and she laughed. He couldn't help but smile whenever he heard that. To him, it was the most beautiful sound in the entire world, and he couldn't keep his eyes off the dimples once again showing in her cheeks.

'I love you,' he said bluntly, and she blinked at him for a moment, taken aback.

Finally, she adjusted her position in the chair a little, looking at him solemnly. 'Yero,' she said slowly. 'I know you're serious about this – about me. I believe that now, and I love that. But… don't you think it's a little early to start tossing around 'I love you's?'

He shook his head stubbornly. 'No,' he declared. 'I don't think so. Because it's true. I told you that before, Fae, and I meant it. That wasn't just a heartfelt attempt to convince you. I don't like you, I don't have a crush on you… I'm in _love _with you. And I'm saying it to you, no matter how much it scares me, because it's true. Not because I want to be romantic or want to placate or convince you, but because I mean it. Every single word.'

She was quiet after that, and though he, noticing her discomfort, steered the conversation towards another subject, she stayed quiet all night. He knew she had to process this, think about it, mull it over in her head; it was just the way her mind worked. And he was willing to give her that time.

He would wait forever for her if he had to.


	18. Chapter 18 Start Of Something New

**AN: Yep, here it is. A birthday update. Consider it a birthday present from me to myself :D. (Also, reviews make excellent birthday presents.)**

**Anyway, thank you all so much for your congratulotions! Virtual birthday cake to you all :).**

**Musicgal: Yeah, the Fiyeraba-getting-together. I figured that Elphaba should at least be a _little _insecure about it, since, well, she's still Elphaba; but I don't want to dwell on it for too long, since I've done that many times in my other chapters, so he is going to convince her rather fast this time :).**

**Scarlett: Frex is... hm... neutral, I guess. I mean, he's not going to be _affectionate _towards anyone but Nessa, or something, but he's not going around murdering people and/or abusing them :P. Perhaps that might change later (for better or for worse, I'm not sure yet).**

**Guest: Kudos to you for picking that one up! :) It's not a line most people immediately recognise as being from Drive By, but yes, I do love Train. I'm not one to swoon over one artist and one only, so it's not like I'm stalking them or something - I only have, like, five Train songs on my mp4-player, but I do love those songs and I like to sneak lines of them into my chapter titles here and there, just because some of them fit Fiyeraba so well :).**

**Mad-Idina-Fan98: Is it weird that I totally freaked out (in a good way) over the fact that you called this a book instead of a story? I'm not even sure it was intentional, but I am considering turning it into an original story (read: book), and 'book' just sounds so much more awesome than 'story' :P.**

**The Fiyeraba fluff in this chapter and the next is probably going to make you sick. I was in a happy fluffy birthday mood and what came out was this (next chapter is even worse), so just bear with me. I'll move forward to action and drama and stuff later, I promise.**

* * *

**Chapter 18. Start of something new**

_Dear Galinda,_

_First of all, I want to tell you that you're my best friend, and I love hearing from you; but you would make me really, really happy if from now on, you could keep the details about the parties you go to and the clothes you buy to a minimum. _

_I mean, seriously. You've known me for twelve years, and so you know that I _really _don't care that there was a sale at the Oz Boutique, but they didn't have the salmon pink dress you wanted and so you had to buy the dress in coral pink, which doesn't look half as good with your complexion. No offense, but if I have to read another three-page rant about clothing and their colours, I'm going to throw up. And I promise you that if you don't stop bothering me with those stories, my next letter will include a ten-page report on everything I'm studying for finals._

_That being said, a lot has actually happened in the past few days, I don't even know where to start; but as my best friend, I want you to know everything, so here it comes. Brace yourself – this is going to be one long letter._

_First of all, you'll be very pleased to know that the little plan you worked out with Hamold worked, though a bit belatedly. And I'm actually glad that I can tell you this in a letter, because if I told you in person, I think my eardrums would end up severely damaged. _

_Well, I'm just going to say it, then._

_I have a boyfriend._

_Or at least I think I do. I mean, I don't know anything about all this stuff, but I'm pretty sure that when a boy kisses you, then tells you he loves you, and then kisses you again, it's fairly safe to call that boy your boyfriend, right? So… yes. A boyfriend. I, Elphaba Thropp, have a boyfriend. And not just any boyfriend – no, my best friend in the world (excuse me, best _male _friend – you're still number one, you know that!), the one I've had a crush on for months now, is my boyfriend. Fiyero Tiggular is my _boyfriend_._

_I guess you get the point._

_I'll tell you the details of how it happened later, but I just needed to tell you this. I was so overwhelmed and shocked and yes, I'll admit it, scared, at first; but now, it just feels wonderful. He tells me he loves me all the time, and I think he really means it, Glin. Even worse – I think I might love him, too._

_He's still recovering from his carriage accident (I know that Cohvu already told you all about that, because he showed me your reply. I'm going to stick with my earlier statement – thank Oz that was a letter or Cohvu would have lost his hearing. Though I'm still impressed at your ability to squeal in letters. You'd think it doesn't come off all that well on paper, but you manage to pull it off fairly decently). I'm helping him study for his finals (Fiyero, not Cohvu), so that he can graduate along with us. It's going well – I think he just needed a small push and someone to explain it to him, because now he already seems to understand much more on his own. I'm confident that he can pass his finals if he tries really hard._

_As you also know, Governor Thropp of Munchkinland came here this weekend and I had to ask him what he knew about me. Believe me when I tell you that it was hard to get him to talk, but you know me and so you won't be surprised when I say that in the end, I _did _get him to talk. _

_Basically, the story is this:_

_On the first night after he arrived, I went to his room and asked him if we could talk. He agreed, though he obviously wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea. I asked him again if he knew me, but he denied that._

'_Who is Melena?' I then asked, and I swear to you, Glin, he looked as white as a sheet. I really thought he was going to faint again._

_Nessarose wasn't there for that conversation, for which I was actually grateful – it's sweet that the girl is so protective of her father, but with her around, I probably would have never gotten to push the matter any further. Now, however, I did, and I kept asking him until he relented._

'_Melena was the love of my life,' he said._

'_Nessa's mother?' I asked, and he just lowered his head, as if he could no longer look at me. I could barely even hear him when he said, more to the floor than to me, 'No.'_

_She was the first woman he ever really loved, he then told me. He said that she was beautiful and mysterious, seemingly not from this world; and she looked just like me, with long, dark hair and large eyes, though her hair was brown and her eyes were hazel, he said. He said I looked so much like her that it was almost frightening._

'_And the green skin?' I prodded, and he finally admitted that he had seen that before, too. 'On Melena,' he said. 'She had green skin, though hers was much lighter and less obvious than yours.' (I wasn't sure whether I should be offended by that last remark or not, but I decided to let it slide.)_

_He loved her, and they were together for a short while; but she had already told him that she couldn't stay. He never knew why that was, but she reminded him every time that their relationship couldn't and wouldn't last… and one day, she was just gone and he has never seen her again ever since. He doesn't even know where she went or what happened to her._

_I know you're probably squealing right now, because you think it's so romantic and tragic, whatever. (If that's exactly what you're doing, just imagine me rolling your eyes at you.) But even being the sap you are, I think you can imagine that I was disappointed. I mean, this woman looks like me. She even has (or had) green skin… I think it wouldn't be wishful thinking if I concluded that she is somehow related to me, and I was dying to meet her, but if not even Governor Thropp knows where she went…_

_So basically, I'm back to square one. The Governor and Nessarose are staying for two more days, so I hope to gain some more information from him that could be useful; but I'm sure that he has already looked for this Melena himself, her being the love of his life and all, and if he couldn't find her, then how could I? But still, I think it's worth a try._

_Also, he almost begged me not to tell Nessarose about this – apparently she doesn't know about Melena's existence or what she meant to Frexspar. After Melena's disappearance, his parents arranged a marriage for him and he married another woman – Nessarose's mother – who died not long after Nessarose was born. _

_Quite the story, huh? Fiyero and Cohvu are just as enthusiastic about it as you were, and though they're acting like little children sometimes, I'm glad that they're here for me. And I'm glad that you're my friend, to, Glin. Even though you live far away, your letters always cheer me up (the parts that aren't about parties or clothes, mind you!) and I miss you. I'm really looking forward to the summer, when you'll be staying here for a few weeks – and after that we're off to Shiz! I can't wait to take the History classes they offer there – I heard the teacher is an Animal, and apparently he is wonderful. _

_I will keep you posted on everything._

_Elphaba_

* * *

Fiyero found the green girl on one of the rocks on the beach, her knees drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped around them as she watched a few dolphins playing in the sea a mile or so away.

He stopped at a safe distance to just drink her in for a moment. There was a soft look in her eyes and a small smile danced around her lips, making her dimples show. She always had that look in her eyes whenever she was looking at animals, or Animals – he knew she loved them. Her skin glowed in the last rays of sun that danced across the water and the beach, and a breeze lifted up some strands of her raven hair, making them dance around her face.

'I love your dimples,' he said with a smile, and she looked up and rolled her eyes at him. 'Idiot.'

He chuckled and sat down next to her. 'Nice to see you, too.'

He put his arm around her and she laid her dark head against his shoulder. 'What are you doing out here?' he asked her.

She shrugged. 'I don't know. Clear my head, I guess, after everything that happened with Governor Thropp.'

He nodded thoughtfully. Frexspar and his daughter had left a few days ago, and though Elphaba had tried, she hadn't found out anything else about this mysterious Melena and it frustrated her to no end.

'What are you going to do now?' he asked quietly, and she shrugged again. 'I don't know.'

He raised his head from where he had rested it on hers and looked at her. 'Could you show me that breathing-under-the-water-thing?'

She looked sceptical. 'Well, there's not much to see, really.'

'Still,' he insisted. 'It's awesome and I want to see it.'

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. 'Fine.' She rose to her feet and whipped her dress off over her head.

He gaped at her.

'What?' she said, grinning upon seeing his face. 'Whether you see me in my bathing suit or my underwear, what's the difference?'

He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. 'Well,' he said when he found his voice again. 'This is the first time I see you in either your bathing suit or your underwear since we kissed.'

She blushed a little. 'Yes, well, don't let it get to your head,' she warned him. 'And if you try something, I'm going to push you off this rock and see how well _you _can breathe under the water.'

He chuckled. 'Point taken.' He kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt as well. By the time he was finished, she had already leapt off the cliff and into the water.

He followed her, ducking his head under the water to see her. She seemed to be dancing through the water, twirling and diving deeper, her hair flowing behind her like the seaweed he had first mistaken it for.

He couldn't really _see _her breathing under the water, like she had already tried to tell him; but she stayed under for over ten minutes without coming up for air once.

When she finally did surface, she broke into a coughing fit, and he hurried over to her to help her. She leaned against him as she violently forced the water from her lungs.

'You okay?' he asked her worriedly, and she took in a wheezing breath, then nodded. 'Fine,' she said. She ran her fingers through her hair and he noticed they were shaking slightly. 'I still have to get used to the transition from breathing in water to breathing in air.'

He nodded understandingly. 'It really is amazing, though, Fae – you can actually _breathe _under water!'

She sighed. 'Yeah,' she said, not sounding too enthusiastic about it. She trailed her fingers down his chest, lost in thought and not noticing his small shiver. 'I just wish I knew what it means.'

He kissed her softly. 'You will know,' he promised her. 'Someday.'

'Someday soon, I hope.' She looked at him. 'So what do you want to do now? I don't suppose I could trick you into studying some more…'

'No,' he told her sternly. 'It's Sunday, for crying out loud. We've already studied all morning. Now we're just going to enjoy the rest of the weekend.'

She smiled. 'Sounds good to me.'

He splashed some water into her face and dashed off. 'Catch me if you can!'

She rolled her eyes at his childish behaviour, but still went along with it, starting to chase him. When she heard something, however, she turned around, her eyes searching the water surface.

Fiyero stopped, too, and looked at her. 'Come on, Fae!' he called, and she shook her head and turned towards him again, swimming after him.

When she heard it again, however, she stopped again and listened intently, tilting her head a little bit to the side. It sounded like a splash, but different than the splashing sounds she and Fiyero were making as they chased each other through the water. Was it an animal? A dolphin or a sea turtle, perhaps? Somehow, her gut feeling told her it was more than that.

Fiyero came back to her. 'Fae?'

'Did you hear that?' she asked, still studying the water, but he just looked at her, puzzled. 'Hear what?'

She shook her head. 'It must have been nothing, then. My imagination.'

She tried to shrug it off, but he stayed put. 'Fae, usually when you have these strange gut feelings, they're right.'

'Oh, so now I'm psychic, too?' she asked sarcastically, and he shook his head with a smile. 'All I'm saying is that you're not really one to see or hear things that aren't there.'

'It was nothing, Yero,' she insisted. 'And if it was, we'll find out later.'

A mischievous glint appeared in her dark eyes. 'Now I would run if I were you, because I'm only going to give you three seconds to get away before I come after you. One… two…'

A grin broke through on his face and he dashed off, with Elphaba right behind him.

* * *

**Another update most likely tonight. Because, well, the chapter is already half done anyway, and I like reading your reactions.**

**Morrible will come up in the next chapter. Dum dum duuuuum. Just FYI, she's not the Headshiztress in this. What is she then? You'll find out...**


	19. Chapter 19 Love Games

**AN: Thank you all so much for the reviews and the lovely birthday wishes! :) **

**Glisa the Good: Hm... You're kind of close ;). Also I just wanted to ask you a random question - how tall is Nurlaila? :P I just noticed when I saw her that she's so small, which I actually love, because that makes it even more impressive that she manages to fill the entire stage with her performance ^_^ but I was just wondering whether she just seemed small from my point of view or whether she really is :P.**

**Aww, Dimpled, I'm so sorry! :( But really, thank you so much and I love that you're reading this!**

**Kudos to Vinkunwildflowerqueen for picking up the HSM reference in the title of the previous chapter :).**

**You are all so close with your theories now... but Musicgal, yours is so close that it's creepy. Girl, do you read minds?!**

**Also, a shout out to Fae the Queen and her new story, Darkness of the Night. Go check it out, it's amazing!**

**And one for Elphaba'sGirl, too, because she was the 200th reviewer I got on this story! :) Virtual leftover birthday cake for you ;).**

* * *

**Chapter 19. Love games**

'Let's play a game.'

They had been playing around in the water for some more. Now they were both lying down on the beach, far enough into the sea to still be surrounded by the water, but close enough to the beach to be able to lie down without being washed away.

He was lying on his back, his arms behind his head, and she rolled onto her stomach to look at him. 'What kind of game?'

A grin tugged at the corners of his lips and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 'It's a game Galinda came up with,' he explained quickly. He propped himself up onto his elbows. 'I take it you told her about… us?'

She blushed a little and nodded. 'I did.'

'I could tell.' He rolled his eyes. 'I received a twenty-page letter from her, almost everything written in capital letters and with hundreds of exclamation marks. The general message was that she is very happy for us.'

Elphaba laughed. 'Of course. Typical.'

'And she advised me to play a 'game' with you.' He used his fingers as quotation marks at the word 'game'. 'Apparently, she really does know you, because she figured out for herself that you would be hesitant to believe me when I tell you I love you.'

Now her face was a thundercloud. 'I'm going to kill that girl.'

'No, you're not.' He pulled her closer and she rolled over again to lay her head on his chest. 'So she suggested we play a game she calls 'Ten things I love about you'.'

Elphaba groaned. 'Of course she did.'

'Aw, come on, Fae,' he said, tapping her nose teasingly. 'Humour me.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Fine.'

He grinned at her. 'Alright,' he said. 'So you tell me something you love about me, and I tell you something I love about you, and we keep doing that until both of us have mentioned ten things. Not that I couldn't go on until a hundred, or a thousand, even, but I don't think you'd like to spend the next week here listening to me telling you all that, so…'

She shoved him. 'You're so cheesy!' she scolded him, but he just stuck out his tongue. 'I'm telling the truth.'

She lied down next to him again, both of them staring up at the clouds in the blue sky. 'You start,' he said. 'What do you love about me and why?'

'Your eyes,' she replied immediately. 'Because… I don't know. They're a beautiful colour, and I could get lost in them.' She blushed and lowered her own eyes. 'And I love the look that's in them whenever you look at me.'

He was grinning broadly, feeling his heart doing somersaults in his chest at her words. He knew this was a good idea to get her to open up to him a little bit more. 'I love you,' he sighed happily.

'That doesn't count,' she teased him, and he laughed. 'Okay then. I love your intelligence. Because you always seem to know everything about every different subject, and every time I talk to you, I end up learning something new. I love that.'

'Your humour,' she said next. 'Not your dancing-through-life humour, but your real humour. The jokes you make when you're with your parents or with Cohvu, or with me. And the way your face lights up when you laugh, and your eyes start to sparkle.'

'That's two things,' he chided her gently, and she rolled over again, pressing her arms down onto his chest and resting her chin on top of them, looking at him. 'So sue me,' she suggested playfully.

He smiled at her. 'Then I get to mention two things, too.' He thought about it for a moment – he hadn't been lying to her, there was just so much that he could think of. 'Your dimples,' he said finally. 'Because it means that you're smiling, which is always a good thing, and because they just look adorable on you.'

She rolled her eyes, but he could see that he was getting through to her.

'And your passion,' he said. 'For everything. For the subjects you're studying, for animals and Animals, for trying to find out where you're from. Everything you do, everything that means something to you, you put so much passion into. You care so much and you're not afraid to show it, and I love that about you.'

She blushed again and he rested his hand softly in her neck, pulling her closer to kiss her. He pressed his lips against hers and watched as her eyes fluttered shut slowly.

When they broke apart again, she snuggled up against him, her head on his chest and her hair fanning out over it. 'Your turn,' he mumbled, feeling a bit light-headed.

'Your body,' she sighed. 'You're the handsomest guy I know, and the only one that's not cocky about it – again, forgetting about the dancing-through-life stuff for a moment. You _know _that you look good, you have to, but you're modest about it. You're that, too – modest. Continuing to call yourself stupid when you're actually really smart, and things like that.'

'That's two things again,' he pointed out, softly running his fingers through her hair. 'So my things… your hair, because it's so soft and thick and silky and I love touching it.' As if to prove his point, he started twirling strands of it around his finger. 'And your skin.'

She sat up immediately and stared at him with wide eyes. 'What?'

He sat up, too, and looked at her. 'It's true,' he said honestly. 'Your skin is beautiful, Fae. It's ethereal and mysterious. It seems to glow whenever you're happy. It's _you_, and it looks perfect on you. I love it and I wouldn't have it any other way.' He softly kissed her fingers, then up her arm, to her neck, and up to her lips again. 'I love you.'

Slowly, he urged her to lie down again, and she stared at the clouds once more, not saying anything for a while.

'Your optimism,' she then said softly. 'You never see the bad things, always just the good ones – and even with me being pessimistic the way I am, you usually manage to make even _me _feel better.'

'Your wit and sarcasm, because it makes me laugh.'

'Your obvious love for your family, because that's _really _rare to see in a guy and I just love the way you interact with your parents.'

'Your eyes.'

'Your lips.'

'Your strange magic powers. Because strange as they may be, they're amazing. _You're _amazing. And I would love you with or without them, but in a way, they make you even more mythical and magical and mysterious than you already are.'

'The fact that you're the best friend anyone could ever wish for, not only to me, but to Galinda and Cohvu as well. And your loyalty, towards your friends and your family…'

'…and my girlfriends?' he finished sarcastically. 'Or is that again excluding my dancing-through-life stage?'

She bit her lower lip. 'It is,' she said, and he shook his head and pulled her even closer. 'Well, from now on, my loyalty is extended to my girlfriend,' he declared. 'Singular, not plural, because there's never going to be another one ever again.'

She looked stunned. 'Yero-'

'I mean it, Fae.' He took her hand and laced their fingers together, before bringing up their joined hands to kiss hers. 'If I can't have you, I don't want anyone.'

She surprised him by suddenly flinging herself at him and kissing him passionately, but he was happy to comply. After a while, she pulled away a little, but kept her arms around his neck and her face mere inches from his.

'Your big heart,' he whispered. 'The fact that you forgive everyone, even Avaric…'

She had to chuckled slightly at that.

'…and that you can love so many people at once and do everything for them in order to keep them safe and happy. The fact that you let me in, even though I know how much that scared you.'

She kissed him deeply. 'Your kissing abilities,' she murmured against his lips, making him chuckle.

'Your courage,' he said finally. 'Because you're the bravest girl I know, in every way you can possibly think of.'

She lay herself flush against him, capturing his lips again. Then she pulled away to look at him.

'I love you.'

He started grinning like an idiot. That was the first time she'd said it, and he inwardly thanked Galinda for her suggestion. Perhaps he had now convinced her that he really did love her. He made a mental note to thank the blonde girl later.

'I love you, too, _a chroí_.'

Again, she pulled away a little. 'Did you just call me your heart?'

He was startled for a moment, but then he remembered that she, too, had learned to speak the Vinkun language. 'Maybe.'

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. 'You're such an idiot,' she said fondly before leaning down to kiss him again.

He rolled them over and pinned her underneath him, looking down into her sparkling dark chocolate eyes. 'I love you so much, Fae,' he whispered, before leaning down again and kissing her until they were both breathless.

* * *

They stayed together for a while longer, before Fiyero finally rose to his feet. 'Shall we go back?'

She looked out over the ocean for a moment. 'Not yet. I'd like to stay a little bit longer,' she said.

'Want me to keep you company?' he offered, but she shook her head with a smile. 'You can go, Yero. Actually, I'd like to be alone for a moment.'

He nodded, not taking that personally. It was just in her nature to always analyse everything and think everything through, and he knew she would need to think about everything that had happened today. 'Okay, take your time. I'll see you at dinner.'

He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head, then quickly put on his shirt and shoes and walked back towards the castle. Elphaba rose to her feet as well, putting on her dress and positioning herself on the rocks near the water again, lost in thought.

Suddenly, there was that splashing sound again, and she looked up, disturbed. 'What in Oz _is _that?' she muttered, inching a bit closer to the edge of the cliff and peering down into the water intently. She didn't see anything. Still, she would have sworn…

'That's it,' she said out loud. 'I'm going crazy. Or perhaps I've been crazy all my life. It's the most probable solution. There's no strange sound – and while we're getting at that, Fiyero is probably not really my boyfriend, and I don't really have magic powers. I made that all up. I must be delusional. That explains it.'

'I would hardly call you delusional, dearie.'

A startled squeak escaped her lips, and the hollow voice that had just spoken now laughed. 'Did I scare you?'

Elphaba turned around, trying to pinpoint the location of the voice, but not finding anyone that could have spoken. 'Who are you?' she asked, frowning a little. 'And _where _are you?'

'I'm everywhere,' the voice hissed, seemingly changing direction as it spoke. 'And who I am is not important. What's important, Miss Elphaba, is who _you _are.'

Elphaba spun around, but there was still no one there. She tried to ignore the fact that her heart was pounding in her chest. 'How do you know my name?'

'I know everything about you, Miss Elphaba.' The voice seemed to move again. 'I know who you are. I know who your parents are. I know where you're from and what you can do. I know _what _you are… I know everything.'

'How?' the green girl demanded, subconsciously stepping away from the edge of the cliff. She half expected someone to suddenly show up and push her off it. 'Who are you?'

'I thought we had already established that those questions are not important here,' the voice said, echoing slightly. 'What matters is that I _do _know. Especially since Governor Thropp wasn't really a big help to you, now was he?'

Shivers ran down Elphaba's spine. Who was this? How did this person know everything? 'He wasn't,' she conceded, slowly turning round and round, trying to locate person the voice belonged to.

'But I am,' the mysterious voice whispered. 'I can help you, Elphaba Thropp, daughter of Governor Frexspar Thropp of Munchkinland and the late Queen Melena, Daughter of the Sea. I know you and I can help you.'

Elphaba was completely stunned. She tried to focus on the different parts of what the voice had just told her, one by one. 'Governor Thropp… is my father?'

The voice moved closer to her. 'Perhaps,' it said in a sugary sweet tone of voice.

'And Melena…' She closed her eyes and scrunched up her nose, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. 'She… She was pregnant when she left the Governor?' Then something else the voice had said dawned on her and she gasped. 'What did you mean, the 'late' Melena? Is she…'

'Melena is dead and gone, has returned to the ocean from which she was born.' The voice seemed to drift farther away from the green girl again. 'But you have other family members who are still alive. A family you could be reunited with… if you come with me.'

Elphaba laughed hollowly. 'Yes, of course. Because I _completely _trust strange voices coming out of nowhere who know all these things about my life without telling me how they know it. Are you psychic or something? A witch? Or just a creepy stalker who has been watching me?'

'A little bit of all three,' the voice replied with a hissing undertone, and Elphaba inadvertently backed away a little.

'I could tell you everything,' the voice whispered. 'I could teach you so much… I could reunite you with your family. I could take you to the place where you belong… I can fill the hole in your heart that has been there ever since you woke up without any memories at all.'

It felt like someone had knocked the breath right out of her lungs. Her head was spinning. Who was this person? How did they know all this? And most importantly… could she trust them?

_Yes! _her mind screamed at her. _This person knows about you! About your family! This could be the chance you've been wanting all your life, the chance to find out who you are!_

But her instincts told her an entirely different story, and she had learned to trust them.

She took another step back, nearly stumbling over a few loose rocks. 'No,' she said in a slightly shaky voice. 'I can't. I don't trust you.'

'You can think about it,' the voice said. 'Talk it over with your little princey boy. I will be right here waiting for you to make your decision.'

A strange fog suddenly seemed to fill the air, rolling towards the raven-haired girl from the sea and enveloping her, making it almost impossible for her to see. When it cleared again, she no longer felt the presence of someone else there.

The voice was gone.


	20. Chapter 20 It's All Here To Discover

**AN: Hi guys! :) Thanks so much for your lovely reviews!**

**First of all, I want to squeal about Flashdance for a moment - went to see it last Saturday and it was amazing. Not Wicked-amazing, but amazing nonetheless. The main male character was portrayed by the guy who played Dutch Fiyero, which was awesome. I loved the music, the dancing, the romance scenes (*squeal*! I kept picturing Yero and Fae), the singing, the acting, the everything, really. And I love the What A Feeling-shirt I bought :P.**

**Siarenthander, he hasn't called her a Vinkun nickname in this story before, but I get why you're getting confused :3. I'm making it a common thing in my stories because I really like it, because for this story, I'm going to stick only with an occasional 'a chroí'.**

**Ronnae: That's the best compliment I've ever gotten. Thank you so much.**

**TheLilyReviwer: Thank _you_, too, so much! :) And yes, I only found it fitting that Morrible would get to be a _real _fishwoman for once :P.**

**Musicgal: Still love you, girl.**

**Glisa the Good: Stanley is absolutely right, and I loved that :). **

**Also, (sorry for yet another way too long AN), could you guys please check out the poll on my profile page? It's my first poll ever :3 but I'd like to get your feedback on the subject of my stories. I mean... I like writing stories like Made to be broken and Yero my hero, because they're filled with disasters and drama and hurt/comfort, but I feel like, for example, Shadows and Ocean's daughter are _way _different, and I was just wondering which (types) of my stories you guys like best.**

* * *

**Chapter 20. It's all here to discover**

Fiyero looked up and smiled when he saw Elphaba enter. 'Hey, Fae!' His smile faded to a frown, however, when he saw the bewildered and slightly panicky look in her dark eyes. 'Fae? Are you alright?'

'Can we talk?' she asked, her voice sounding a little strange, and he hastily put the book he had been reading aside. She didn't even make a comment on the fact that he _was _reading a book, which told him just how serious this was. 'Come on.'

He took her to his private sitting room upstairs and closed the door behind them before turning around. 'Are you okay?'

She bit her lip. 'I'm not sure, actually,' she confessed, and he moved closer to her, lightly placing his hands on her shoulder and looking into her eyes. She could see the worry in his own eyes when he asked tentatively, 'Is this about… us? Did I do something?'

'No!' She looked up at him with wide eyes, horrified. 'Of course not!'

He relaxed and she buried her face in his shirt. 'Yero?' she asked in a small voice.

'Yes?'

'Do you think I'm delusional?'

He pulled away to look at her. 'What in Oz gave you _that _idea?' he demanded incredulously.

She started biting her lip again. 'My magic powers. You loving me.' She paused for a moment and furrowed her brow. 'And the fact that I just had a conversation with a voice without anyone attached to it.'

'Whoa, stop right there.' He gently sat her down on the couch and sat down next to her, keeping their fingers entwined. 'What happened?'

'I…' Elphaba fell silent for a moment. 'I was on the beach,' she said finally. 'I was just… talking to myself. And then someone responded, only there was no one there.'

She looked up at him. 'Yero… this person knew who I was,' she said softly. 'She… or I think it was a she… knew my name, she knew that I tried to talk to Governor Thropp but didn't get much information out of it… she said I'm his daughter, Governor Thropp's, and that this Melena he kept on talking about is my mother .The voice said I have family somewhere that it could reunite me with.'

Fiyero tried to wrap his mind around this. 'And you don't know who this was?'

Elphaba shook her head. 'There was no one there,' she said. 'I don't know if there are people who can change themselves into rocks, or make themselves invisible… but I swear, Yero, that it's true. There was no one there, but I was talking to _someone_.'

'I believe you,' he assured her quickly. He flashed her a grin. 'I mean, come on, Fae. You manipulate water, you heal people, you can breathe under the water, and you love the brainless playboy prince. When it comes to you, nothing surprises me anymore.'

For some reason, that made her blush a little; but she was glad that he believed her.

He cocked his head a little to the side thoughtfully. 'Do you think it could have been an Animal?' he asked her. 'Some kind of Bug, perhaps?'

She stared at him, amazed. 'I hadn't even thought of that,' she confessed, and he smiled at her. 'Well, whatever or whoever it was, it's still strange,' he mused. 'What did you think?'

'I think…' Elphaba chewed the inside of her cheek and drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. 'I think that it's amazing… if it's true. But I'm not sure if it's true.'

'Do you think that voice made it all up?' asked Fiyero, but Elphaba shook her head. 'Let me rephrase that: I'm not sure if I can trust the source of this information.'

He nodded understandingly. 'Well, it's hard to trust someone you can't even see.'

'I wish I knew more.' She sighed. 'I just… I want to find out where my family is and where I'm from, more than anything – you know that. But… but what if this is some kind of trap?'

He looked at her sympathetically.

'But on the other hand,' she continued softly, 'until I try, I'll never know. And if I decide to ignore this, I might regret it for the rest of my life.'

She leaned against him and sighed. 'Why is this so difficult?'

He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. 'Because the most important decisions are never easy. But no matter what choice you make, I'll support you.'

She looked up at him with those large chocolate brown eyes of hers. 'Would you come with me?' she asked softly. 'To the beach? To see if we can find out anything else?'

He leaned down to kiss her. 'Of course.'

And so a few minutes later, the two of them made their way to the beach, to the spot where Elphaba had first heard the voice.

'Was it here?' asked Fiyero, and she nodded, looking around her. 'Yes, it was, but there's no one-'

'Hello, dearie.'

Fiyero gasped and Elphaba spun around to face him. 'You heard that too, right?' she asked anxiously.

He nodded, looking a little pale, and she breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thank Oz, I'm not going crazy.'

He chuckled faintly at that. 'I guess not.' He looked around. 'Who are you?'

The voice sighed irritably. 'Not you, too. Why is that all you two can ask, Prince Fiyero?'

He wasn't even surprised at the fact that this voice knew his name. 'Could you at least show yourself, then?'

The voice seemed to drift further to their right. 'If you insist.'

Suddenly, there was a movement in the air. It looked like water, tiny drops of it that started to swirl around in the air, finally revealing a person standing in the middle of it.

It was a woman, about sixty years old, with powdery white hair and pale blue eyes. Her skin was white and wrinkly, and she seemed to be wearing lots and lots of make-up; but even all the make-up couldn't mask the fact that she undoubtedly looked an awful lot like a fish.

She curtsied. 'Miss Elphaba. Master Fiyero.'

They both gaped at her.

'My name is Morgana Morrible,' the woman continued, turning her piercing blue gaze first on Elphaba, then on Fiyero, then back to Elphaba again.

'It's, um… nice to… meet you?' Fiyero tried weakly, and the woman cackled. 'It might be.'

Elphaba stepped forward. 'How did you do that?' she demanded.

'What? Making myself invisible?' Morrible made a gesture, there was a wave of water and suddenly she was nowhere to be seen again. 'I use the water,' her voice whispered, before she became visible again and looked at Elphaba. 'I draw the droplets of water in the air towards me and thus disguise myself,' she explained. She smiled at Elphaba, eyes gleaming. 'You could do that, too, dearie,' she whispered. 'You could do so much more than what you've already discoverated. I could teach you. I could help you in so many ways…'

Fiyero now understood what Elphaba had meant when she had told him that she didn't trust the person behind the voice. Morrible didn't really give him a reason to, but there was something about her that made the small hairs at the back of his neck stand bolt upright.

He looked to his right. Elphaba was obviously hesitating, but then she stepped forward and nodded, determination shimmering in her eyes.

'I want to know.'

Morrible grinned at her. 'Good.' She extended her hand towards Elphaba. 'Come with me.'

Sudden fear caused Fiyero's throat to clench shut – she wouldn't just go with this woman, would she? – but much to his relief, Elphaba took a step back and shook her head violently. 'Oh, no. Not just like that. You honestly expect me to just take your hand and let you lead me to Oz-knows-where?'

Fiyero wrapped his arms around her waist from behind protectively, and she put both hands over his arm and squeezed it reassuringly. She looked up at Morrible. 'First I want to know where you're going to take me,' she stated.

Morrible cackled. 'Trust me, dearie. You wouldn't believe me if I told you.'

'Well, is it far?' asked Elphaba, and the older woman shook her head. 'Closer than you'd think,' she whispered mysteriously.

'Okay.' Elphaba nodded. 'How about this: I come back tomorrow morning, and you take me to wherever it is you want to take me then.'

Morrible looked faintly annoyed. 'Why not right now?'

'Because I want to talk to Hamold and Lori first to let them know what I'm going to do.'

Morrible nodded thoughtfully. 'The King and Queen of the Vinkus and the closest thing to parents you've ever had. I see.'

'How long do you think it will take us to get there and come back?' asked Elphaba. Morrible cocked her head a little to the side. 'I think it will take us a few hours to get there,' she said. 'We could spend the night there and return here in the morning.'

'So two days?'

Morrible nodded, and Elphaba took a breath. 'Alright.'

'Do we have a deal, then?' Morrible asked, and Elphaba looked her in the eyes. 'One more thing.'

Morrible groaned softly. Fiyero's grip tightened around the raven-haired sorceress, but she squeezed his arm again to let him know not to worry.

'What is it?' Morrible asked with a sigh, and Elphaba half-turned to look up at Fiyero and stated, 'Yero is coming with me.'

He was completely taken aback by that. 'Really?'

'Only if you want to,' she said, suddenly uncertain. 'I mean… You said you wanted to be there, but if you don't-'

'Of course I'll come,' he cut her off firmly. 'Fae, wherever you want me to be, that's where I'll be. And I'd feel much better if I were to come with you than if I would have to stay behind and let you go alone,' he confessed.

Her face broke into a smile and she leaned up to kiss him softly. 'I love you,' she murmured, three words that never failed to make his heart flutter.

'Well,' Morrible's voice came sarcastically, 'however touching that is, I'm afraid he can't.'

Elphaba turned around again, startled. 'What?'

Morrible sighed. 'Miss Elphaba… the place where we're going is… ah… complicated.'

'What do you mean, complicated?' Elphaba demanded. 'If I can get there, then so can Yero, right?'

Morrible shook her head. 'Dearie, I'm afraid you don't understand,' she said impatiently. 'Have you never connected the dots?'

Elphaba looked at her in utter confusion. 'What dots?'

Morrible gritted her teeth. 'Come on, dearie, think about it. You're allergic to fresh water, but not to salt water. You can breathe under the water. You can _control _water. Do you see the common factor here?'

'Water,' Elphaba whispered when she finally realised that, and Morrible grinned at her. 'Exactly.'

Elphaba looked at the older woman almost fearfully, inwardly already bracing herself for the answer that was to come. 'Madame Morrible… What _am _I?'

Morrible's grin widened. 'All in good time, dearie. All in good time.' Her eyes bored into Elphaba's. 'But that is where we'll be going tomorrow,' she whispered. 'Under the ocean.'

Elphaba swallowed.

'So now do you see why your princey can't come with you?' the woman asked. 'Last time I checked, he couldn't breathe under water.'

Elphaba looked up at Fiyero. Then she looked back at Morrible. 'If he's not coming, then neither am I,' she said simply.

Fiyero sucked in his breath. 'Fae…'

She shook her head and he turned her around to look into her eyes. 'Fae,' he said gently. 'You can't give this up for me. Like you said – this might be your one chance to learn where you come from. Don't let that be ruined by me. Please.'

She shook her head again. 'I can't do this without you, Yero,' she whispered, and he kissed her forehead. 'Of course you can. You're strong, Fae. You can do this.'

'I don't want to. Not alone.' She looked at Morrible again. 'We're both coming, or we're both staying here. That's the end of it.'

Morrible looked annoyed again and groaned. 'Fine,' she finally relented with a sigh. 'I might know a tiny little spell that will allow your princey to breathe under the water for twenty-four hours. Of course, that means we'll have to return early, because if we spent the night under water, he might drown, and I guess we don't want that-'

Elphaba glared at her.

Morrible quickly complied. 'But we could do that. Tomorrow morning at nine, we'll be leaving.'

'Nine it is,' Elphaba agreed, and Morrible nodded, a grin spreading across her face once again. 'I can't wait, Miss Elphaba,' she said.

She curtsied. Then she disappeared in another wave of water.

* * *

Lori's utensils clattered against her plate as she dropped them, gaping at her son and his girlfriend. 'You're going _where _now?'

'I must have trouble hearing,' Hamold said drily, 'because what I heard was 'into the ocean'.'

Fiyero suppressed a chuckle. 'That's because that's what we said,' he pointed out.

Cohvu, who had once again stayed over for dinner, looked at his friends with one raised eyebrow. 'And you mean that literally?'

Elphaba nodded. 'It's not _that _strange,' she defended herself. 'You know I can breathe under the water, Cohvu. And this Morrible woman knows a spell that can help Fiyero do that, too.'

She told them everything that had happened with Morrible and everything they had been talking about, but when she finished, the others didn't look any less stunned.

'So… what does that mean?' Cohvu asked slowly. 'That you're from under the water?'

Fiyero's eyes had widened. 'That makes sense,' he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else, amazed. 'I mean… you were washed up on the beach, Fae. You appeared from out of nowhere. You didn't understand any Ozian language at all, and no one could figure out where you came from… and now these powers, and the fact that you can breathe under water – and this thing with Morrible… What if that really is where you're from? The sea?'

Hamold looked a little paler than usual. 'Suddenly Yero's theories about sirens and mermaids don't seem so ridiculous anymore,' he said, forcing a smile, but looking shaken.

Lori shook her head slowly. 'I must say, all kinds of theories about you crossed my mind, Elphaba,' she admitted. 'From your parents having died in a shipwreck to you having been kidnapped and left for dead on the beach. But never, _ever, _could I have come up with _this_.'

Cohvu was starting to look excited. 'Do you think it's true?' he asked Elphaba, impressed. 'That you're a siren or something?'

Elphaba rolled her eyes. 'Let's not jump to conclusions here, okay?' she warned him. 'Let's just…' She shoved the food on her plate around for a little bit. 'Let's just wait until tomorrow,' she continued softly. 'See what happens and go from there.'

'You're right.' Hamold nodded and smiled a bit faintly at Elphaba. 'I think this is brave of you, Elphaba. To do this, even though you know it might not be pretty what you'll find.'

Elphaba shook her head. 'I just… I need to know,' she said softly, and Hamold smiled at her sympathetically. 'I know you do, kid. But I'm glad Yero is going with you. Just in case.'

She smiled and sought out Fiyero's hand under the table, squeezing it. 'Me, too.'

'Well, whatever happens…' Lori looked at Elphaba solemnly. 'Good luck tomorrow, Elphaba,' she said sincerely. 'And please do come back to tell us what you've found.'

'Of course I'll come back!' Elphaba hastened to reassure the Queen. She shook her head. 'I don't know what I'll find, or what will happen, but I will come back. I mean…' She chewed her bottom lip. 'I know I haven't always seemed grateful,' she admitted, looking guilty. 'You've done so much for me, and I just kept telling you that it didn't feel right, that something was off. And it does feel that way, because I don't know for sure who I am or where I came from. But… I don't think I ever thanked you for what you did.' She looked around the table. 'Taking me in, taking care of me as if I were your own daughter… befriending me and standing up for me, something no one else would ever do.' She smiled at Cohvu, and he smiled back. Then she looked at Fiyero and her gaze softened. 'Loving me.'

He brought their joined hands above the table and kissed the back of her hand.

She looked at the King and Queen again. 'So… thank you,' she continued. 'For everything.'

Lori actually had tears in her eyes, and Hamold appeared to be touched as well as they both moved around the table to hug the green girl. 'You're welcome, sweetheart,' Lori told her. 'We love you like a daughter, you know that, and we're so proud of you.'

'All of us,' Cohvu added with a lopsided grin, and Elphaba let out a choked laugh before hugging him. 'Thanks, Cohvu.'

The boy turned to his friend with a stern look on his face. 'And you, Tiggular,' he said threateningly. 'Take good care of her, or you're a dead man.'

Fiyero grinned. 'Love you too, dude.'

'Don't make me doubt your sexual orientation,' Cohvu warned him teasingly, and Fiyero rolled his eyes.

Lori turned to Elphaba again. 'So… good luck, sweetheart,' she said, hugging the girl once more. 'I hope you'll find what you are looking for.'

Elphaba smiled. 'Thanks, Lori. So do I.'

But even if she wouldn't find it tomorrow, she thought as she watched the ones she considered her family at the table around her, she wouldn't give up. She would find what she was looking for; if not tomorrow, then later on in her life, because she wouldn't stop looking until she found it.

* * *

**Next chapter will be drama. Oh, and kudos to the one that knows the source of this chapter's title.**


	21. Chapter 21 Under The Sea

**AN: I AM GOING TO LONDON TO SEE WICKED.**

**I BOOKED THE TRIP. YES I DID. I'LL BE IN THE SECOND ROW FOR THE SHOW. WITHIN A FEW WEEKS, I'M GOING TO SEE WICKED. AND WILLEMIJN VERKAIK. AND WICKED. AND OMO I'M FREAKING OUT (in a good way).**

**Sorry, I just HAD to share that with you guys! I'm constantly singing Wicked songs and doing little dances and grinning like an idiot - I think my friend is already starting to regret agreeing to come with me, but who cares? I'M GOING TO LONDON TO SEE WICKED!**

**It will be the 23rd of November in the afternoon - the performance of 2.30 pm, that is, because we arrive in London on Saturday morning and we leave again Saturday night. We couldn't stay any longer because we both have uni to take into account, and people call us crazy for travelling all the way to London and only spending one morning actually _sightseeing _in London, but I don't care. WICKED WICKED WICKED WICKED. AAAAAAAH.**

**So, I'll just stop squealing for a moment to reply to your reviews.**

**EmeraldElphaba: Mindreader. That's all I'm gonna say.**

**Vinkunwildflowerqueen: You're right. Never trust the Morrible ;). And yes, I'm not sure why, but in my head, Morrible's first name is Morgana - I guess that is partly because of the Little Mermaid II, but also just because it fits her somehow, I think. I use that as her first name in all of my stories :).**

**Artsoccer: You thought her first name was Horrible? That made me laugh _so _hard xD.**

**And a cliffy again, 'cause I can.**

* * *

**Chapter 21. Under the sea**

'So…' Fiyero stared at the water suspiciously. 'Now we go under?'

'Unless you were planning on walking on it,' Morrible said sarcastically, at which Elphaba chuckled faintly, despite everything.

Fiyero, however, wasn't reassured. 'And you're absolutely sure that the spell works?'

Morribles eyes were cold as she turned them on him. 'I am not an amateur, Master Fiyero,' she told him coolly. 'I have been practicing sorcery all my life, and I know which spells work and which don't.'

Fiyero didn't look convinced. 'Alright, then.' He already wanted to take a deep breath, then figured that wouldn't be necessary, and dove under, Elphaba and Morrible following close behind.

Morrible watched for a while in amusement as Fiyero tried to hold his breath out of pure instinct. 'Dearie, the whole purpose of this spell is that you _don't _need to hold your breath,' she sniggered.

Fiyero scowled at her. 'Maybe, but I still think it's creepy that I…' His eyes widened when he realised what he was doing. 'Oh my Oz. I'm breathing. And talking. Under water!'

Elphaba smiled at him and Morrible rolled her eyes. 'When you've recovered from your shock,' she said sarcastically, 'shall we get moving?'

Fiyero looked up, realising that the water surface was now almost ten meters above his head. 'Cool,' he muttered. Then he looked at Morrible. 'Now what? We just… swim?'

Morrible looked at Elphaba, her gaze unreadable. 'Actually… there might be something I should inform you about first.'

She swam closer to Elphaba. 'You've probably realised by now that you're not human,' the woman said matter-of-factly. 'Or, well, _half _human, technically, but still not entirely human.'

Fiyero half expected Elphaba to throw him an 'I-told-you-so'-look, but apparently, she was too nervous for that. 'So if I'm not human, what am I?' she asked.

Morrible grinned at her. 'You, dearie, are a mermaid.'

They both stared at her.

'A mermaid,' Elphaba repeated flatly, and Fiyero shook his head. 'That's not possible, is it?' He pointed at her legs. 'I mean… don't mermaids usually have tails?'

Morrible nodded. 'Usually, yes. But someone cast a spell over our dear Miss Elphaba here when she was six years old.' She turned her penetrating gaze on Elphaba. 'Before they left you on the beach near Adurin Iir.'

Elphaba was struck speechless.

Morrible cackled. 'Don't believe me? Watch.' She made a few hand gestures, then muttered a spell under her breath. Immediately, the water seemed to collect around Elphaba, hiding her from view for a moment; and when Fiyero could see her again…

'Oh. My. Oz,' he said slowly, staring at his girlfriend wide-eyed.

Elphaba herself seemed even more shocked than he was. She looked pale and almost ready to faint when she looked down at what once were her legs, but what now was a silvery blue, scaled… _fishtail._

'Oh my Oz!' Fiyero repeated, looking excited. 'That is _amazing_! Can I touch it?'

'What am I, some kind of tourist attraction?' Elphaba snapped at him, her voice slightly higher than usual. He quickly moved back a little, suddenly realising how she must be feeling. To him, this was something wondrous, something he had never seen before – something _awesome_; but to her, it must be life-changing and probably pretty scary. She was a _mermaid_. A mythical creature – or so they had thought. His _girlfriend _was an Oz-forsaken _mermaid_.

Now he understood why they called this the Mythical Sea.

He only realised just how shocked and shaken Elphaba was when she reached up to pull a strand of hair over her shoulder and started chewing it – something she only did when she was _really_ nervous or scared. He saw that her hand was trembling, and he quickly swam over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. 'Hey,' he said gently, removing the hair from between her teeth. 'Don't be scared.'

She let out a hollow laugh. 'That's easy for you to say. You're not the one that's _half fish_.'

'Must I feel offended?' Morrible asked pointedly. 'Because you're not the only one, dearie. I am half fish, too.'

'What _are _you?' Elphaba whispered, and Morrible bowed – quite the accomplishment, given that they were still under the water. 'I am a Witch of the Sea,' she declared proudly. 'Part fish, part sorceress, and I know every spell there is to know out there.'

Elphaba nodded faintly. 'Of course you are. A Witch of the Sea. Just wonderful.'

Fiyero could tell that she was starting to panic, and he rubbed her arms soothingly. 'Fae? You'll be okay, _a chroí_. Just breathe.'

'I would,' she said drily, 'but then I think of the fact that you're telling me to _breathe _under the _water_, and the fact that that is actually possible, and that kind of makes me freak out again.'

He chuckled softly. 'I know it's a lot to take in, Fae, but you'll be fine. You just need to get used to the idea.' He looked at her. 'And at least this proves you're not from the moon,' he offered.

She looked at him. Then a small grin spread across her face. 'You are such an idiot.'

'I know, right?' he agreed cheerfully, and she leaned against him a little as she tried to get used to the feeling of having a fishtail.

Morrible rolled her eyes. 'Just flap it, dearie,' she advised. 'That's all there is to it, really.'

Slowly, Elphaba let go of Fiyero, trying to get herself to swim. It was a bit clumsy at first, but soon she got the hang of it and she started swimming circles around Fiyero and Morrible. 'I think I've got it,' she said in wonder.

'Good,' Morrible said impatiently. 'Shall we go, then?' She muttered another spell and ended up with a fishtail herself.

Elphaba looked confused. 'Are Sea Witches mermaids, too?' she asked, and Morrible rolled her eyes. 'Dearie, I can take many, many forms,' she assured the green girl. 'All kinds of sea creatures – mermaids, fish… and my human form, of course.' She beckoned the other two. 'We're going to be a lot faster using our tails than Master Fiyero will be using his legs, so we'll just have to drag him along.'

'Can't you change me into a mermaid as well?' Fiyero asked, slightly disappointed, and Morrible shook her head. 'First of all, it's mer_man_,' she corrected him. 'Unless you're not really a man.'

Elphaba suppressed a snigger.

'And second of all, no,' Morrible continued. 'I can only transform myself into a mermaid, and Miss Elphaba here has always _been _a mermaid – or part mermaid, anyway – so that was just a matter of reversing the spell this… _person_… cast on her.'

They started on their way, Fiyero in between them. Morrible seemed keen on getting there as soon as possible, but Elphaba just had a million questions.

'This person,' she began. 'Who was that?'

'The one that turned you into a human?' Morrible rolled her eyes. 'Your Aunt,' she replied. 'Has some magical abilities as well – many merpeople do – and she was jealous of Melena, because Melena was the oldest and thus inherited the throne.'

Elphaba immediately stopped swimming. 'You've said that before,' she said slowly. 'That Melena was a Queen. What… what does that make me?'

'A whale,' Morrible said sarcastically. 'Honestly, dearie, what do you _think _that makes you?'

'Oh my Oz,' Fiyero said again. 'You're a princess!'

Elphaba was just stunned. 'I am?'

'The Crown Princess, to be exact.' Morrible gestured for them to start swimming again, but talked at the same time. 'Melena was the Queen of the merpeople, but she was murdered not too long before you were left on that beach. Your Aunt, Aurya, did it, because she was jealous. Needless to say the people didn't accept her as their Queen after that, and so they crowned _me _instead. What can I say? They have good taste.'

Elphaba tried to wrap her mind around all of this. 'What about me?'

'After murdering your mother, your Aunt turned you into a human and left you on that beach. I guess she at least had enough of a conscience to not murder a six-year-old, but she couldn't let you stay, because she wanted the throne for herself. Only like I said, she never got it. She was banished from these waters after we found out what she did.'

The green girl had fallen silent, completely overwhelmed by all this new information. 'And my father?' she asked finally. 'Governor Thropp. How does he fit into all of this?'

'He doesn't,' Morrible snorted. 'He barely knows anything. But I'll tell you about him later.' She gestured towards a network of underwater caves, right in front of them. 'We're here.'

'Already?' Elphaba asked, amazed, and Morrible snorted again. 'Dearie, you have first spent over an hour mulling everything over in your head, and you spent the past two hours or more bombarding me with questions. I wouldn't say we're here 'already'.'

Elphaba blinked. She hadn't realised it had been that long, but then again, Morrible was right – she _had _been caught up in her thoughts and in Morrible's story.

The Sea Witch entered the caves, swimming through the opening of the biggest one. Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged a look before they both followed her, the green girl clutching Fiyero's hand as if it was a lifeline.

He squeezed hers softly. 'Are you scared?' he whispered, and she shook her head stubbornly. 'I don't do 'scared',' she declared.

He chuckled. 'Fae, it's okay to be scared, really.'

'I'm not scared,' she insisted. 'I'm just…' She paused. 'Fearful?' she tried. 'Worried? Anxious? Slightly frightened?'

He rolled his eyes fondly. 'That's the same thing, Fae.'

She stuck out her tongue. 'Fine. Whatever you want,' she grumbled. 'I'm scared. Happy now? It's just… we're in this strange place under the water, I have no idea what's going on, where we're going or what's happening. I don't even know for sure if we can trust Morrible, if she's telling the truth… It just all seems like a really weird dream.'

'You can't know any of those things for sure.' He squeezed her hand again in a reassuring gesture. 'If you want to go back, we can.'

She hesitated, then shook her head. 'We've come so far already…' she said quietly. 'It would be stupid to give up now. And… I'd like to meet them. My family.' She paused and a combination of horror, fear, and amazement crossed her face for a moment. 'And my… people.'

He grinned at her. 'That's a pretty amazing thing, too, you know. You're a princess! Princess Fae of the Merpeople!'

She rolled her eyes and swatted at his arm. 'Stop it, you idiot!' But she was smiling. 'I'm not sure if I should be terrified or excited about that fact,' she admitted to him, and he made a face. 'Trust me, I know the feeling.'

She softly rubbed circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. 'I know you do,' she said quietly. 'And you let it get to you at first, but you got over it, didn't you? You got yourself together.' She moved closer to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, letting her head drop against his shoulder. 'I don't know if I told you this,' she began a bit hesitantly. 'But… but I'm really proud of you for that.' She blushed. 'Getting out of that dancing-through-life stuff, I mean. Getting yourself together and accepting your responsibilities as the Crown Prince of the Vinkus.'

He smiled at her, feeling as if he might burst with joy. He kissed the top of her head. 'I love you,' he sighed happily.

He felt, rather than saw, her smile, and she squeezed her arms around his waist briefly. 'I love you, too.' Her tail flapped against his legs and she pulled away, a guilty expression on her face. 'Sorry. I'm still not used to the fish-part of me.'

He chuckled and drew her closer again. 'That's okay. You will get used to it… eventually.'

She looked up at him, her large, dark eyes uncertain. 'And you are not freaked out by that at all?' she demanded a bit anxiously. 'The fact that mermaids are not only real, but that your girlfriend is one?'

'Don't forget who you're talking to, Fae,' Fiyero reminded her with a smile. 'This is the guy that spent half his childhood looking for mermaids and sirens in the sea, and the other half of it reading about them. The boy that always wished desperately for a mermaid, or a siren, to wash up on the…' His eyes widened and he stared at her for a moment when he realised the irony of that. '…beach,' he finished.

She looked at him, amused. 'Looks like your dreams came true,' she teased him. 'And you didn't even know it. Perhaps that's what I am – a wish upon a star.'

His grin could compete with the sun as he leaned down to kiss her. 'I like that thought,' he murmured.

'When you're done making eyes at one another, would you just follow me?' Morrible asked irritably, and they quickly let go of one another, Elphaba running her fingers through her hair, Fiyero giving the old woman a sheepish grin. Morrible just rolled her eyes and swam deeper into the cave network, stopping in front of one and gesturing for Elphaba and Fiyero to enter first.

Elphaba hesitated, looking up at Morrible. 'Where are you taking us?' she asked a bit warily, and Morrible gave her a reassuring smile. 'Trust me, dearie,' Morrible told her, her eyes gleaming. 'I'm taking you to your family.'

Elphaba couldn't help the excitement that bubbled up inside her once more and she held her breath. 'Really?'

'I promise,' Morrible assured her, and Elphaba gave her a small smile, then swam inside the cave, with Fiyero right behind her.

Morrible raised her arms and muttered something under her breath, and suddenly, a barred fence came down, blocking the entrance of the cave, locking Elphaba and Fiyero up inside.

They both flew towards the bars, shocked. Morrible looked back at them with an amused expression on her face. '_Finally_, I've got you.'

It took a while for Fiyero's brain to catch up with what was happening, but Elphaba was quicker, starting to yank at the bars, then swimming back and throwing her entire weight against it, but to no avail. 'Let us out, you evil fish-witch!' she screeched. Inwardly, she was cursing herself. Her instincts had practically been screaming at her from the moment she had first met Morrible, but she had let her curiosity get the better of her, and for that, she would never forgive herself; because now, she hadn't only endangered herself, but Fiyero as well.

'Was _anything_ you told me even true?' Elphaba demanded hotly. 'Or did you just make all that up to keep me from growing suspicious?'

'Most of it was true,' Morrible stated calmly, looking at her prisoners with an evil glint in her pale blue eyes. 'But that doesn't really matter anymore now, does it? The problem, Miss Elphaba,' she continued, swimming back and forth in front of the bars, 'is that you are the rightful Crown Princess. And if you come back, you will be Queen, and I will be discarded as such. I can't have that.' She bored her eyes into Elphaba's. 'And so I can't let you live.'

'Then at least let Fiyero go!' she pleaded, but Morrible shook her head. 'Never,' she declared smugly. 'I'm having way too much fun with this.'

She cocked her head a little bit to the side. 'I think I'll come back in the morning,' she mused. 'You know, when the spell wears off. It will still take a little while longer – only six hours or so have passed since I cast it – but when the twenty-four hours are up, I want to be there. I think it will be quite the show to watch Master Fiyero drown.' She threw her head back and cackled.

'And when he is dead and gone,' she turned again to lock eyes with Elphaba once more, 'then I'll deal with you, dearie.' She looked amused. 'And do you know what the best part is? That I'm going to keep my promise.'

Upon seeing the confused look on Elphaba's face, Morrible grinned at her. 'I promised you I'd take you to your family,' she reminded her. 'And in a way, I will. You will be reunited with your mother in Heaven, if you're lucky, dearie.'

She cackled again, then left, leaving Elphaba and Fiyero locked up in the cave.


	22. Chapter 22 Release Me

**AN: Sorry it took me so long to get this up, but those of you who also read You're Still The One already know the reason why - I unexpectedly had to get one of my wisdom teeth removed and so I spent the past week lying on the couch and moaning in pain (first because of the tooth itself, and since Friday because of the fact that it was removed and there's now a gaping hole in my mouth. And it HURTS).**

**But I'm back now! Also, note that I put up a new oneshot - it's called These Words and it's a tiny little sequel to Shadows, because I just couldn't let that one go. Feel free to check it out :).**

**Random: Oh my Oz, you get to see Willemijn with your school? :O That is so cool! I wish my school had done cool things like that... unfortunately, no such luck. But tell me everything about you seeing Hayley, too! I hope you had fun :). And please don't feel like that - true, some of my reviewers have been there for a long time already, but I love my new reviewers as much as I do my old ones, so don't feel shy! Reviews make me so happy! :)**

**Fae Tiggular: It's funny that every time you get upset about me hurting, or threatening to either hurt or kill, Fiyero, you start referring to him as 'my Yero'. *smirk***

**Elphaba'sGirl: That would be Barbie in a Mermaid Tale. Please don't ask me how I know.**

**Watercolor: Now I'm curious about your statistics stuff. Because I'm forced into statistics classes myself, so I know how totally not-fun it is ;).**

**This chapter is for my anonymous and/or new reviewers, because I love you all just as much as I do my old/regular ones :).**

* * *

**Chapter 22. Release me**

Elphaba swam back a little and stretched out her hands, focusing on the barred fence in front of them. She squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched up her nose in concentration, but nothing happened.

With a frustrated shriek, she banged her fists against the bars. 'Stupid magic powers! Where are they when I need them?'

Fiyero tried to take her hand. 'Fae…'

She pulled away from him and swam back again, throwing her entire weight against the fence. It left her arm and shoulder feel bruised, but the bars didn't budge. She tried again, and again, until Fiyero finally stopped her. 'Fae!' he said sharply.

She looked up at him.

'Stop it,' he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 'You're hurting yourself.'

Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears and she pulled away again, letting herself sink down into the sand at the bottom of the ocean. 'It's my fault,' she whispered, hugging herself. She sniffled a little, trying to keep her tears at bay, but to no avail. She started crying. 'You're going to _drown_, and it will be my fault!'

'Hey!' He moved to sit next to her, gathering her in his arms. 'It's not your fault, _a chroí_. Not at all. I decided to come with you, remember?'

'But I _asked _you to come with me,' she whispered. 'I shouldn't have done it in the first place. I _knew _I couldn't trust Morrible, I just knew it, but I just… I needed to know, and… and she said she could help me… and now…' Another sob escaped her lips, and he pressed his lips to her hair, gently rocking her back and forth. 'We'll get out of here, Fae,' he whispered. 'We'll think of something. But I don't want you to think that it's your fault we're in here. It's not, okay? It's not.'

He held her tightly, and she buried her face in his shoulder. She was trembling all over and he softly stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her.

They sat in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. Fiyero wished there was something he could do, but he had no idea what. He had already seen that the cave only had one entrance, and that was the one currently being blocked by a barred fence; there were no other holes in it through which they could escape. The bars were too thick to move, the openings between them too small for Elphaba or Fiyero to wiggle themselves through. They were trapped.

He wondered what it would be like. To drown. He'd never really thought about that before. He couldn't really imagine it would be all that pleasant, to have your lungs fill up with fluid and not being able to take a breath – he remembered almost drowning once when he had been a small child, and he shuddered at the memory. He didn't remember all of it, but he knew it had felt awful and he had panicked completely. His father had gotten him to the surface just in time.

But still, he mused, it would also be strangely poetic, in a way. He had always loved the sea and everything about it; he loved to swim, he loved the stories about the Mythical Sea, he spent almost all his free time at the beach. And now Elphaba, the girl he loved, had turned out to be a creature of the sea as well – a mermaid. He couldn't really think of a better place to die than the ocean, if you thought about it that way.

But still. No matter how poetic it was, and no matter the fact that he couldn't think of a better place to die than right here; he could still think of a better _time _to die. Like, in sixty years, or something.

He sighed and Elphaba looked up at him. 'What are you thinking about?' she asked softly.

He knew it would only upset her if he told her the truth, so he settled for, 'Possible ways to get out of here.' That wasn't a complete lie, either.

However, she had always been able to read his mind, and that didn't stop now. She made a soft, choked sound in the back of her throat. 'I can't watch you drown, Yero,' she whispered brokenly, burying her face in his neck. 'I can't.'

He didn't say anything, just held her to him and pressed his cheek against her soft raven hair. He wanted to reassure her, tell her that he would be okay, that they would both be fine, but he couldn't. Because truth be told, the situation was rather hopeless.

'Do you think it's night already?'

Fiyero's voice broke the silence. They had been locked up for what felt like days, but must have been hours; they had spent those hours trying to find a sensitive spot in one of the walls or in the bars, and Elphaba had tried a few times more to use her magic to break through either the cave walls or the bars, but nothing happened.

She shrugged listlessly in response to his question, not even looking up. He stared at the bars, wondering how long he had left before the spell would wear off.

'What time do _you _think it is?' Elphaba asked quietly after a while. Fiyero let out a mirthless laugh and leaned his forehead against the bars. 'Time to die?' he muttered sarcastically, more to himself than to her. 'A quarter to death?'

Elphaba abruptly turned away from him, and he sighed, immediately regretting that. 'Sorry.'

She didn't say anything, just huddled in the corner, and he moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her. 'I'm sorry, Fae,' he said again. 'I didn't mean to-'

'No, you're right,' she cut him off, sharper than she'd intended. 'It's true, after all, isn't it?' She fell silent for a moment. Then she pulled away from him and swam towards the bars again. 'Unless I could…'

He sighed, recognising what she was trying to do. 'Fae, you tried using magic before,' he reminded her gently. 'It's not working.'

She shook her head. 'Maybe not,' she said through clenched teeth. 'But I can't stop trying.'

'Fae…'

She focused again, ignoring him, willing those stupid powers of hers to surface; but once again, nothing happened. 'Come _on_!' she exclaimed, flapping her hands and clenching them to fists.

She felt Fiyero tentatively touching her waist. 'Fae…'

_If I can't get my magic powers to work, Fiyero will die._

And somehow, that thought did it; because suddenly she could feel that strange sensation that was her magic running through her veins, and she gritted her teeth and extended her arms, closing her eyes. Because she did that, she couldn't see what happened, exactly; but Fiyero saw the bright blue and emerald beams shooting from Elphaba's hands, and he saw them hitting the wall of the cave. The entire cave shook and shuddered with the impact, and he immediately pushed her down to the ocean floor, covering her body with his and protecting his own head with his arms.

When the noise stopped and dust slowly settled down, Fiyero carefully lifted his head, gasping softly when he saw the hole Elphaba had blown into the wall.

She tried to squirm herself free from underneath him. 'What? Fiyero, I can't see anything. What's going on?'

He moved off of her and pulled her up, before kissing her blatantly. 'You did it, Fae!'

She pushed him away to get a good look at the wall herself. There was, indeed, a hole in it… but it wasn't very big. 'I must admit,' she said drily, 'that judging by the impact of it all, I had expected a bigger hole.'

He shrugged. 'Who cares? It's big enough, isn't it?' He swam up towards it and stuck his arms through it, then pulled himself through, wiggling until he came out on the other side. He let out a howl of triumph. 'We're free!' He turned around excitedly. 'We're not gonna die!'

Elphaba, meanwhile, was halfway out of the cave herself, but now she looked pained. 'Correction: _you're _not gonna die.'

He instantly panicked. 'What? Why? Are you hurt? Fae? Why would you say that?' he demanded in a high voice.

She glared at him, which shut him up. 'No, Yero, I'm not hurt,' she told him patiently. 'I'm stuck.'

He almost laughed out loud. 'What do you mean, you're stuck? You can't be stuck,' he declared. 'You're way smaller than I am, and _I _didn't even get stuck. So how could _you _possibly be stuck?'

'Well, trust me, I am,' she snapped at him. 'I may be smaller than you, Yero, _normally_… but you seem to have forgotten about the fishtail.'

His eyes widened. He had, indeed, conveniently forgotten that she was a mermaid for a moment… but he had seen himself that the tail was pretty impressive, not to mention rather big compared to her slender frame.

He gestured for her to get back. 'Let me try.'

She obediently moved back inside the cave and he pushed himself through the opening again. 'Now try again.'

She could only get the upper half of her body through the opening, and no matter how hard he pushed, or how violently she squirmed to get free, she couldn't get the fishtail through.

She looked crestfallen when she moved back, and he took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. 'Can't you change yourself back into your human form?' he suggested.

She looked at him as if he had gone crazy. 'Fiyero,' she said slowly. 'I have only used my powers actively _three times _in total, two of which were accidental. Just now, it took me _hours _to blow a hole in a rock wall. I have no knowledge of or experience with any kind of spells or magic whatsoever. So no, I don't think I can change myself back.'

He bit his lip. 'Then what?' he asked, slightly panicked, and she looked at him. 'You go.'

He stared at her. 'Excuse me?'

'You heard me,' she said. 'You must go, Yero. I'll be fine – I can breathe under the water. You can't. The spell will wear off soon, and we can't risk that. You have to go now, or it might be too late.'

He shook his head frantically. 'I'm not leaving you.'

'There's no time for this!' She started pushing him towards the hole in the wall again. 'If you don't leave, you'll _die_, Fiyero, so stop being stubborn and just _go_!'

He hesitated. He knew she was right; he _really _didn't want to leave her, but he wouldn't be any good to her if he drowned, either. 'Alright.'

'Fiyero, I just said…' She blinked when his response sank in. 'Wait. What?'

'You're right,' he said. He drew her into his arms and kissed her softly. 'I love you.'

She kissed him back, then pulled away. 'I love you, too, Yero. Now get out of here,' she begged him. 'Please.'

He nodded grimly, then pushed himself through the opening and swam in the direction he remembered the entrance of the caves to be in.

* * *

'Elphaba?'

The green girl looked up, her entire body tense. Was Morrible back? It was a female voice, so it could not be Fiyero – thank Oz for that. She was immensely grateful that at the very least _he _had gotten away.

There was the voice again. 'Elphaba, are you in here?'

That, Elphaba decided as she slowly swam up from the ocean bottom and towards the barred fence blocking the entrance, was a strange question, which told her that whoever this was, it was not Morrible.

As she thought that, the person who had spoken came into view, and Elphaba studied her critically. It was a woman, in her late thirties or early forties. She had black hair that reached her shoulder blades, a silvery blue fishtail, and a skin colour that was something in between light blue and light green.

She looked relieved, though slightly pained, when she saw Elphaba. 'It is you, isn't it?' she whispered, and Elphaba eyed her warily. 'Depends on who's asking.'

The woman just smiled a bit sadly. 'I'm here to help you,' she told the younger mermaid. She stretched out her hand and concentrated. Slowly, but surely, the opening Elphaba had created in the rock wall of the cave earlier, started to widen, until it was big enough for Elphaba to fit through – fishtail and all.

She immediately took her chance and escaped from the small space, before turning and taking in the woman in front of her. 'Who are you?' she demanded. 'How do you know me? And how did you know I was here?' Her eyes narrowed. 'You're not working with Morrible, are you?'

The woman actually laughed softly at that, seemingly surprised. 'With Morrible? Me? Trust me, Elphaba – I'd much rather cut off my own tail.'

Elphaba relaxed slightly at that, though she was far from actually _trusting _the woman. 'But then-'

'There's no time for all that now,' the mermaid cut her off gently. 'Just come with me, Elphaba – please. I promise I'll explain everything, but right now, we have to get out of here before Morrible comes back.'

'Last time someone told me they'd explain everything to me, I ended up stuck in a tiny cave at the bottom of the ocean,' the green girl muttered under her breath, but she obeyed nonetheless and followed the older woman through the caves and out of them. They swam for some time before they reached what looked like an underwater village, and Elphaba gasped – which was a rather strange sensation under the water – when she saw it.

'It… it's beautiful,' she said softly, taking in the coral walls of the small houses, the sea plants scattered everywhere, waving on the stream… she had never seen anything like this before.

The woman smiled. 'It's my home,' she said softly. 'It is now, anyway. I used to have a different home…' She exhaled and shook her head. 'But that home was taken from me a long time ago.'

Mesmerised, Elphaba swam past the houses, noting that it wasn't just mermaids living in the village – there were also living all kinds of sea Animals, which surprised her probably more than it should have. After all, if Animals lived among the people on the shore, than why wouldn't it be the same under the water?

She turned around to face the other mermaid once more. 'I want you to tell me everything,' she said. 'I think I've been kept in the dark for long enough now. I need answers.'

The woman thought about that for a moment, then nodded slowly, giving Elphaba a small smile. 'You're right,' she admitted. 'Alright. I will tell you.'

She sat herself down on a rock, and Elphaba followed her example, eagerly awaiting the other mermaid's story.

'When you were a young girl,' the woman began, 'your mother was murdered.'

Elphaba nodded. 'By my aunt.'

The other woman looked shocked. 'Who told you that?' she demanded, seemingly angry. 'Was it Morrible?'

Elphaba blinked, slightly baffled. 'Yes, but…'

The woman shook her head violently. 'It wasn't your aunt, Elphaba,' she declared. 'Your aunt never did anything. It was Morrible who murdered your mother.'

Somehow, Elphaba didn't have much trouble believing that.

'Your aunt was blamed for the crime, and banished,' the woman continued. 'Morrible took power then, but as you might have guessed, she's a far cry from a fair ruler. She likes to dominate and dictate her people, keeping them in check by using her powers to frighten them, often killing them just to set an example.'

She shook her head again, softly this time, looking wistful. 'I wish I could have stopped her,' she muttered, more to herself than to the green girl sitting across from her. 'I wish I could have done something, _anything_… more than I did. Because what I did, while trying to keep you safe… it wasn't enough.'

Realisation dawned on Elphaba almost immediately, and she looked at the woman again, studying her, her facial expression, her features, her looks, her eyes. 'You're her, aren't you?' she asked softly, meeting the other mermaid's gaze. 'You're my aunt.'

The woman seemed stunned, and she hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded, staring down at her hands. 'Yes,' she admitted. 'I'm your mother's sister.'

* * *

**Also (no, I'm not done ranting yet. I'm sorry for the incredibly long AN stuff, but bear with me, guys - it's been a WEEK!), I couldn't help but notice the fact that this story scored a great majority of the votes in my poll. Which I actually thought is kind of interesting, because I figured that you'd prefer musical-based stories - as in, they actually follow the musical, at least up until some point. This one is as AU as they come, and I thought many of you wouldn't really like that, but apparently I was wrong about that!**


	23. Chapter 23 It's A Love Story

**AN: Here I am again! Thank you all for your reviews, and for your well-wishes, too ^_^.**

**No cliffy this time, to spare you (Fae Tiggular, though I absolutely loved the fact that one of my cliffies made you throw you phone against a wall, but just so you know: I cannot be held responsible for any damage done by my cliffies, psychological, material, or otherwise. That goes for all of you).**

* * *

**Chapter 23. It's a love story**

'Aurya.' The woman extended her hand towards Elphaba. 'Nice to officially meet you… again, I suppose.'

'I suppose,' Elphaba echoed flatly, shaking her aunt's hand. 'So what happened? Morrible murdered my mother and you were banished?'

Aurya nodded. 'I found this small village about a year after I was removed from Melena's kingdom, and I set up home here. I was hoping you'd find your way back here one day,' she admitted. 'Seems you have, although I must say I regret the fact that it had to be through Morrible. I would have preferred to tell you everything myself right away.'

'Then why didn't you?' demanded Elphaba. 'Why did you never come to me? Didn't you know where I was?'

'I knew.' Aurya sighed. 'But, Elphaba… All I ever wanted was for you to be safe and happy,' she said sincerely. 'And it appeared to me that you were, back at Adurin Iir. I didn't want to ruin that for you by suddenly popping up and telling you that you're a mermaid princess – it would have turned your whole life upside down.' She shook her head. 'If I'd known you were looking for answers about your past, I would have come to you,' she said softly. 'But I didn't know. Morrible did – she has a gift for things like that, sensing whenever people are longing for something, or uncertain about things… She knows your weak spots without you even knowing them yourself.'

'That's why she wanted me to watch Fiyero drown,' Elphaba whispered, and Aurya nodded. 'Yes.'

Elphaba sighed, her fishtail moving back and forth restlessly as she hugged herself. 'I wish I knew if he was safe. I hope he managed to get back…'

'He did,' Aurya assured the green girl, and Elphaba's head snapped up. 'What?'

Aurya smiled at her. 'I was around, when Fiyero escaped,' she said. 'I was waiting for an opportunity to get to you, but then I saw him exiting the caves. When you didn't follow, I figured that you were still in there, and I decided to take the risk and ask him about it. He told me what had happened, and I decided to help him get back… after all, he only had about an hour left before the breathing spell ran out, and he's only human,' she added wryly. 'It would have taken him hours and hours to get back, not to mention that he had no idea which direction to go in.'

Elphaba gripped the rock she was sitting on so tightly that her knuckles went white. 'So… he's safe?' she asked, just to be sure. 'You helped him get back?'

Aurya nodded. 'I dragged him all the way back to the beach near his home,' she assured her niece. 'He was completely fine when he got there – just very tired and very worried about you, but I told him I would make sure you would be safe as well.'

Elphaba let out a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.' Aurya studied the younger mermaid, a small, sad smile making its way onto her face. 'You look like her, you know,' she said quietly. 'Melena.'

Elphaba fingered a strand of her long raven hair. 'I do?'

Aurya smiled at her. 'Yes. Although I can definitely see some Frexspar in you as well,' she added, at which Elphaba looked up at her, slightly startled. 'So… that part was true, then?' she asked, faintly surprised. 'I must say, after what happened, I didn't really believe _anything _Morrible told me anymore.'

'Frex is your father.' Aurya stared off into the distance, a faraway look in her emerald green eyes. She shook her head. 'Let me start at the beginning,' she said, and Elphaba motioned for her to go ahead.

'Melena was the Queen of these waters,' Aurya began. 'She hadn't been queen for very long, but the people adored her – they already had when she had still been the Crown Princess. She didn't have a husband – merpeople are much more tolerant when it comes to those sorts of things than humans are,' Aurya said with a small sniff. 'But that is beside the point.'

She sighed. 'Melena travelled a lot,' she said. 'To meet her people, reaching all corners of her kingdom, but she also went beyond the borders, meeting other merpeople, Animals… and humans. All merpeople have magical powers, but some are stronger than others; and magic fairs well in the royal family. Melena found a spell to change herself into a human, and she used it every now and then, to explore the human world – out of curiosity. And one day when she did… she met Frex. It was love at first sight for both of them.'

Aurya shook her head. 'Of course, the wisest thing Melena could have done was to just return to the ocean and forget about him,' she said wryly, 'but Melena was never one for rationale. She followed her heart. And so she stayed with Frex for about two months, before returning to the ocean. I remember that day – she was dizzy and dreamy, her head in the clouds… she had to return because she was the Queen, but after a while, she went back to Frex, before coming back again. That went on for about a year, but people started to talk, high officials and advisors disapproved of her behaviour… and when she came back, she told me that she had fallen pregnant.

Our mother, who was old, but still alive back then, told her that no one could ever know that this baby was half human, or the merpeople wouldn't accept her. Luckily, even pregnancy out of wedlock is not really a big issue here with us, and so instead of shunning Melena for having a baby with a man of which no one knew who he was, everyone was happy about their Queen having a baby at all. You were born, and everyone adored you; and Melena never returned to see Frex again.'

Elphaba was stunned. 'She never saw him again?'

Aurya shook her head. 'I found out later what happened to him,' she said. 'He married another woman, and they had Nessarose together. She came prematurely, which is why she's in a wheelchair; and her mother died shortly after. Frex has been living like a hermit ever since, or so I've been told.'

Elphaba recalled what she had heard about the Governor from Fiyero, Lori, and Hamold, and nodded.

'So you grew up,' Aurya continued her story. She smiled. 'You were a beautiful little girl,' she said softly. 'Everyone loved you… but then Morrible came along. She's a Sea Witch, and she lived in the cave network she kept you and the Vinkun prince in. She ventured into the kingdom sometimes, but she never posed a danger or anything… until she killed your mother.'

'How…' Elphaba swallowed, suddenly feeling a lump in her throat. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer, but she asked the question nonetheless. 'How did it happen?'

Aurya looked into her niece's eyes. 'She was poisoned,' she said simply. 'It happened quickly, secretly, and unexpectedly, and no one ever found any proof of who did it; but I know it was Morrible. I saw her. But then Morrible accused _me_, and before I knew it, she had the people on her side, telling them that I wanted the throne and that if they didn't do something, you would be next. You were the only one standing between me and the throne back then – the next in line. Only I never wanted the throne.' She shook her head. 'I was perfectly happy staying out of the spotlights,' she said. 'Morrible ruined everything for me. She sent me away, and took the throne herself, sweet-talking the people into crowning her their new Queen until you were old enough to take on that role yourself.'

'And me?' Elphaba asked quietly. 'Who came up with the idea to change me into something I'm not and leave me on a beach somewhere?'

Aurya sighed, fidgeted a little, then looked up and met Elphaba's gaze. 'I did.'

Elphaba was struck speechless.

Aurya swam up from the rock she was sitting on, swimming towards one of the many water plants adorning the ocean floor, and touching it, obviously lost in thought. 'Morrible went after you,' she said finally. She turned around to face the younger mermaid. 'She wanted to get you out of the way as well. She didn't want you to take the throne – _ever_. She just wanted to be Queen herself until the end of time.'

Elphaba watched her aunt silently as she started pacing (she wondered briefly if one could call it 'pacing' when it was basically swimming back and forth, but she quickly brushed that off as not really relevant at the moment). Aurya turned again to look at Elphaba. 'She took you with her,' she said, the mild despair audible in her voice as she recalled the memory. 'She was taking you out of the kingdom, to avoid anyone witnessing what she was about to do. She wanted to kill you, Elphaba. I didn't know what else to do… you're my godchild, I had to keep you safe!'

'You're… you're my godmother?' Elphaba asked softly, trying to process all this new information, and Aurya gave her a small smile. 'I am.'

'How…' The green girl swallowed. 'What did you do?' she wanted to know. 'How did you save me from Morrible? What happened?'

Aurya sighed. 'I distracted Morrible,' she said. 'Don't ask me how, but somehow, I managed to take her completely by surprise, and I was able to grab you and get out of there. I went as fast as I could, criss-crossing through corals and caves and seeking cover everywhere I went, until I had shaken her off. But I knew she would never stop looking for you, and if she found you, she would try to kill you.'

She looked at the raven-haired girl across from her. 'That's when I realised I was near Adurin Iir,' she said quietly. 'Melena had told me about it… she'd been there with Frex once, about six or seven years before. I remember her telling how nice the King and Queen of the Vinkus were, how friendly, and how well they took care of their people… I didn't know what else to do, Elphaba. I thought that leaving you there was the only way I might still be able to save you, and to give you the life you deserved, even if that meant abandoning you. But I kept an eye on you,' she added hastily. 'I went back several times, to check up on you, assuring myself that you were alright. And when it seemed that you were, I left.'

She smiled a bit ruefully at the green girl. 'I thought I might never see you again.'

'Why don't I remember any of this?' Elphaba asked quietly. Of course she couldn't know for sure if she could trust this woman, her aunt – her _godmother_… but the story made sense, and she was inclined to believe it. At least it came from a more trustworthy source than Horrible Morrible.

Aurya shook her head. 'I'm not sure,' she admitted. 'Part of it is probably the fact that Morrible cast a spell on you that caused you to temporarily lose consciousness, making it easier for her to abduct you and take you with her… you were still unconscious when I left you on the beach. I took the spell that Melena used to transform herself into a human and changed it a little bit, hoping it would work, and it did. You didn't wake up when I cast the spell, and you were out right up until King Hamold and his son took you with them. I'm not sure how much damage Morrible's spell might have done to your memory… or perhaps it was just the shock and trauma of it all. You were only six years old, after all, and suddenly your mother was gone, your aunt disappeared… everything you knew fell apart.'

Elphaba, by now, was feeling decidedly overwhelmed. She believed Aurya, she really did; but it was a lot to take in.

Aurya looked at her almost pleadingly, clearly waiting for a reaction, but Elphaba was too stunned to give her one at first. She mulled everything over in her head, again and again, the pieces of the puzzle that was her life and her past slowly fitting together.

'This,' she croaked out finally, 'was definitely _not _what I had imagined to find when I started looking for answers.'

Aurya flashed her a small grin.

'But somehow it makes sense,' the young mermaid said slowly, mind still reeling. 'I don't know. It feels… right. I still don't remember anything, but… I'm inclined to believe you.'

Aurya looked decidedly relieved. 'Thank you, Fabala.'

Elphaba's head whipped around. 'What did you just call me?' she demanded in a high voice.

Her aunt gave her a shaky smile. 'I'm sorry. It's… it's what we called you,' she explained. 'Your mother and I. Some kind of pet name.'

_Fabala…_

It sounded foreign and familiar at the same time.

She blinked, trying her hardest to remember, but every time she thought she was close to catching on to the memory, it seemed to float just out of her reach again. She let out a soft groan of frustration. 'I wish I could remember any of this!' she complained.

Aurya placed a hand on her arm, making her jump slightly. 'I'm sorry, Elphaba,' she said seriously, looking into the girl's dark brown eyes. 'About everything.'

Elphaba exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself. 'It's not your fault.'

She let herself drift back down onto the rock, lost in thought. 'I'm just wondering,' she said slowly. 'I know the truth now, I know my story… but what should I _do_?'

Aurya sat down next to her. 'That's not my question to answer,' she said gently. 'It's up to you, Fabala.'

Elphaba blinked again, still getting used to the apparently old nickname, but she had other things on her mind right now. 'I'm the Crown Princess,' she said softly, more to herself than to her godmother sitting next to her. 'Should I… go back? Claim my rightful position? Challenge Morrible?' She shook her head in disbelief, then buried her face in her hands. 'Tell me, Aurya…' she said pleadingly. 'I don't know what to do!'

Her aunt just placed one bluish green hand on Elphaba's shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. 'You, Fabala,' she said, softly but firmly, 'should do what your mother always used to do.'

Elphaba raised her head to look at her aunt questioningly.

Aurya smiled. 'Follow your heart.'

* * *

'Fiyero!' Hamold and Lori came running towards him. The moment one of the servants had seen him entering the castle, he had ran off to find the King and Queen, and they were both looking anxious as they approached him.

'What in Oz happened?' Lori asked worriedly when she realised her son was dripping wet and decidedly panicked. Cohvu, who had stayed at the castle because he wanted to be the first to hear about Elphaba and Fiyero's mission for answers, came into the grand hall as well, alarmed by the noise. 'What's going on?' When he saw his friend, he whistled. 'Wow, Yero… What did you do?'

Fiyero was still panting and out of breath – even though a mermaid who claimed to be on their side had helped him get back ashore, it had still been an exhausting journey. 'It's Elphaba,' he managed to choke out between gasps. 'Morrible trapped her in an underwater cave!'

Lori and Hamold exchanged a look.

'Morrible is a Sea Witch,' Fiyero rambled on, 'and she turned out to be evil. So she trapped us both, but then Elphaba blew a hole into the wall and I could escape but she didn't fit through, her fishtail got stuck, but she told me to go ahead and I did but the breathing spell didn't last much longer and I was close to drowning, but then there was a mermaid and she helped me and dragged me back to the beach.'

'A mermaid,' Lori echoed flatly.

Hamold raised an eyebrow. 'Breathing spell?'

'Sea Witch?' Cohvu chimed in. Then he frowned. 'Wait a clock-tick. Elphaba has a fishtail?'

'Long story,' Fiyero said breathlessly, and his parents exchanged another look – one he knew all too well. 'Should we call a doctor?' Hamold whispered to Lori, and Fiyero stomped his foot like a five-year-old. 'Mom, Dad! I'm serious! I swear!'

'Let's sit down and listen to his whole story before we call the mental hospital,' Cohvu suggested, and Lori and Hamold agreed. 'But let's get him into some dry clothes first,' Lori added, which they also all agreed upon.

Ten minutes later, they all sat down in the King and Queen's private sitting room and Fiyero told them everything that had happened, from the moment they had left the previous morning up until he had appeared in the hall of the castle mere minutes ago.

When he was done, silence filled the room for a few moments. Lori and Hamold shared another look. Cohvu just gaped at his friend, and it was he who finally broke the silence.

'So now what?'

Lori stared at him in disbelief. 'Are you saying you _believe _him?'

Cohvu shrugged. 'Why not?' he asked. 'We all knew something weird was bound to come up when Yero and Elphaba told us that they were going under the water with some mysterious woman to find answers about Elphaba's past. The girl has magic powers, for Oz's sake. Personally, I don't really find this too difficult to believe, after everything we've seen already. Remember her saving Fiyero's life?' He shook his head. 'And,' he added pointedly, 'do you really think Fiyero would lie about Elphaba being in danger?'

Lori and Hamold exchanged yet another look. They knew Cohvu was at the very least right about that.

'I have to find a way to save her,' Fiyero said anxiously, but Lori shook her head gently. 'Yero, how were you planning on doing that?' she asked him. 'Even if you could find a sorceress somewhere that was willing and able to cast a spell on you that allowed you to breathe underwater, which, may I add, is very unlikely… I still don't think you would be able to find her. The ocean is big, Fiyero.'

He buried his face in his hands and moaned. 'I know!'

Cohvu patted his shoulder comfortingly. 'She'll be fine, Yero,' he assured his friend. 'She can take care of herself. She's a strong girl, you know that.'

Fiyero sighed and rested his cheek on his arms. He prayed to Lurline that Cohvu was right.


	24. Chapter 24 Stories And Legends And Myths

**AN: New chapter! It's kind of a filler, but it's some bonding between Elphie and her aunt, which I think is kinda important for the story... and there are some things in it that you need to know, but that will make more sense later.**

**I'm still surprised at the response I get for this story - according to my poll, three out of the four stories you like best are the three most AU stories I've written; this one is probably the most AU of all. I mean, it has a will of its own - it's getting way more AU than I had originally anticipated, yet it's the one that got the most votes. Remarkable.**

**Ozzie: yes, you're in the Frex Hunters ;-).**

**Dude. My name is never ever (I really love that new username, by the way): no, I haven't gotten any books published, but thank you for the compliment ^_^. I'd really like to try, someday.**

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**Chapter 24. Stories and legends and myths, oh my!**

After their talk, Elphaba asked Aurya to take her back to Adurin Iir, and the older mermaid complied.

'Will you come back?' she asked quietly. Elphaba hesitated, but then nodded. 'This isn't goodbye,' she promised her aunt. 'I mean… I can't just find out all these things about myself and my family and then turn my back on it. But I can't stay right now, either.'

Aurya nodded sympathetically. 'Because of Fiyero. I understand.'

Elphaba gave her a small smile. 'Not just because of him,' she said. 'Aurya… you're my family by blood, and I love the fact that I found you now. Plus you saved my life all those years ago. But you have to understand that Lori and Hamold are the ones who raised me, made sure I was clothed and fed, that I went to school, that I was loved… They're as much of a family to me as you are. I consider Cohvu my brother, Galinda my sister, and Fiyero…' She made a face. 'I'm not sure what I consider him, exactly,' she admitted, eliciting a soft chuckle from Aurya. 'But he's family, too. And… I can't just abandon them now that I found you. Not just like that.'

Aurya reached out and squeezed her niece's arm. 'I understand, Elphaba,' she said solemnly. 'Really, I do. You don't have to explain to me what family means,' she added with a wry smile, and Elphaba looked up at her. 'I'm sorry,' she said. 'For everything that happened.'

Aurya smiled at her. 'I am, too, Fabala, but it happened the way it happened, and we can't change it now. I'm happy that at least I got you back,' she added, and the green girl nodded. 'Me, too.'

Because despite everything, Morrible locking her and Fiyero up, having to fear for their lives, the story she had heard from her long-lost aunt… it had been so overwhelming and slightly scary, but, she realised now, somewhere along the way, it had filled the hole inside of her that had always been there because of the not knowing. It would be difficult, and she wasn't sure what the future would bring… but at least now she knew the truth.

'I meant what I said before,' Aurya said as they continued on swimming. Elphaba wasn't sure how her aunt knew the way back to the beach when everything under the water looked alike, but she supposed that was just a matter of looking at things… well, another way.

'You have to follow your heart,' Aurya continued. 'If you do that, Fabala, if you just listen to yourself, discover what it is you want from life and act like it… then everything will be okay, and you will find a place where you belong.'

Elphaba's head whipped around to look at her godmother.

Aurya smiled. 'Did I hit the nail on the head?'

'You did, actually,' the green girl admitted reluctantly. 'I was just thinking that… that with everything I found out today, and everything – every_one_ – back at Adurin Iir… I still don't feel like I belong.'

She sighed and pushed both hands through her long, thick hair. 'I never truly felt like I did before,' she said, 'but now it just feels like I'm being pulled at from two directions. A part of me belongs here, in the ocean, with you… and another part of me belongs with the Tiggulars at Adurin Iir… but I feel like there's not one place in the entire world where I _completely _belong.'

Her aunt just looked at her. 'You will find your place,' she said softly. 'Someday, somehow… you'll just know.'

They swam together in silence for a while, both of them lost in their own thoughts before Elphaba spoke up again. 'So, mermaids have powers?'

Aurya nodded.

'What kind of powers?' Elphaba asked. 'I mean… do all mermaids have powers or just some of them? I already know that I can manipulate water, to some extent, and heal people, and of course breathe under the water, but what else could I do?'

Aurya smiled. 'All mermaids have powers,' she explained. 'To some extent, anyway. We can all heal and naturally we can all breathe under the water. The royal family is generally stronger than other mermaids – it's in our blood. You are particularly strong, because you're not just from this world – you're a hybrid. Half mermaid, half human. That makes you even stronger.'

Elphaba listened intently, intrigued. 'Really?'

Aurya nodded. 'You're going to have to try things out to discover the limits of your magic, but I could guess your basic powers. Healing, manipulating water – that takes a lot of practice, mind. I'm surprised you did it this morning, to free Fiyero.'

Elphaba scrunched up her nose. 'But I didn't manipulate water then,' she protested. 'I blew a hole in the cave.'

Aurya smiled at her. 'By controlling the water,' she told her niece. 'You forced the water onto one spot, using it to put pressure on the cave wall until it crumbled. Most of mermaids' powers have something to do with water.'

'Which is rather strange,' Elphaba noted, 'given that we're allergic to fresh water. Yet we can manipulate it.'

Aurya looked surprised. 'We can?'

Elphaba just looked at her, and her aunt shook her head in mild amazement. 'I have never been ashore before,' she admitted. 'I've gone to the surface a few times, but I never actually explored the main land. I wouldn't know much about fresh water. I do know it burns us, of course – poking your head out of the ocean while it's raining is a hard lesson.' She made a face.

Elphaba chuckled. 'Tell me about it. I was almost dropped into a pond once,' she admitted.

Aurya looked shocked. 'How did that happen?' she demanded, and Elphaba shrugged. 'Some boy trying to pull a prank on me,' she said. 'He didn't believe I was allergic to water, so he thought it would be funny to drop me into the pond.' She smiled softly at the memory. 'Fiyero saved me.'

Aurya smiled, too, upon seeing the look on the girl's face. 'You really love him, don't you?'

'I do.' Elphaba chuckled. 'He nearly got a heart attack when Avaric threatened to drop me.' Then her gaze turned worried again. 'I bet he's worried sick right now.'

Aurya placed her hand on her niece's shoulder comfortingly. 'That's why we're on our way to Adurin Iir right now,' she reminded the girl gently, and Elphaba nodded and flashed her a quick smile. 'Right. Let's just hope he won't do anything stupid in the meantime.'

She looked at her godmother again. 'So, healing and manipulating water. Anything else I should know about?'

'Casting spells,' Aurya replied. 'There were several spell books in use in Melena's kingdom, which the merpeople could use for small spells; however, Morrible had all of those destroyed to prevent her people from turning on her and attacking her with magic. I myself managed to save a copy or two of those – I'll show them to you next time you visit,' she promised. 'You will visit again, won't you?'

'I will,' Elphaba assured her, and Aurya smiled. 'Good. Anyway, you could try and look up some spell books in the human world as well – I suppose they will work, too. Mermaid magic is not limited to the underwater world.'

'Perhaps there are some in the library at Adurin Iir,' Elphaba mused. 'It's a really big one – I love it. It's perhaps my favourite room in the entire castle,' she admitted a bit shyly, and Aurya laughed. 'You're a lot like Melena in that respect,' she smiled. 'And like myself, too. I love books.'

She shook her head. 'But I digress. We were talking about magical abilities. Let's see, is there more…' She tapped her chin thoughtfully.

'I can't really think of much else at the moment,' she confessed after a while. 'But like I said – you'll find out for yourself soon enough. Your powers will develop as you get older, and they will reveal themselves to you in time – particularly when you get emotional.'

'I noticed,' Elphaba muttered, and Aurya continued, 'But there are a lot of stories, myths and legends, about mermaid powers.'

'What kind of stories?' asked Elphaba curiously, and Aurya counted them on her fingers. 'Well, for one, there is this legend about a mermaid who fell in love with a human prince, only he did not love her back. In the end, she became sea foam and ceased to exist.'

Elphaba stared at her aunt. 'That sounds depressing,' she said finally, and Aurya chuckled. 'I know. But there are other stories. Many of them involve fresh water, too – there's a story about a mermaid who turned out _not _to be allergic to fresh water. For as far as I know, that story is real, to some extent, and she is the only one ever known to not be allergic to fresh water. But that, too, is quite a depressing story. It was a girl that lost her entire family in a war, a long, long time ago, and she herself became severely disfigured. Not wanting to live any longer, she turned herself into a human and jumped into a fresh water lake, intending to kill herself… only to find out that she did not react to fresh water at all.'

Elphaba raised one eyebrow, but her aunt was just getting started. 'That wasn't the end, though,' she assured her niece. 'She eventually just threw herself off a cliff and onto rock bottom. That worked, too.'

'Are there also tales about mermaids that have a happy ending?' Elphaba asked pointedly. Aurya flashed her an apologetic grin. 'I'm sorry – these stories aren't really giving you the right impression of merpeople, I guess. It's not like all we ever do is die.'

'Thank Oz, because I was already starting to fear for my life,' the younger mermaid said drily, at which Aurya chuckled. 'Let me see… There's the story about the King, one of our ancestors, saving his entire kingdom with his magical abilities,' she offered. 'Or the legend about the mermaid – also a hybrid, I believe, half human and half mermaid - who went ashore, was caught by a downpour of rain and died because of it, but then she shed her mermaid form and became human, getting a chance at a second life. There's also a story about a merman who spent his entire life helping others, believing that he could make a difference in the world. He went ashore to visit hospitals and heal sick people with his powers, he took out criminals by using his water magic… according to the tale, he even defeated the evil Sea Witch – an ancestor of Morrible's, I believe.' She smiled wryly. 'Take one thing from me, Fabala – never trust a Sea Witch. As a general rule, they are evil.'

Elphaba sniggered. 'Point taken, but trust me, I had figured that much out for myself,' she assured Aurya. She furrowed her brow. 'What I couldn't help but notice about these stories, though, is that a lot of them involve a mermaid going ashore. Does that happen often?'

Aurya smiled. 'Most merpeople are unusually curious,' she admitted. 'A lot of them want to see the human world for themselves when they hear about it, and it's not a rarity that a mermaid or merman goes ashore to explore. Most of them stay hidden, though. They observe the humans from a distance, seeing, but without being seen. Otherwise the newspapers would be full of stories about green- and blue-skinned persons,' Aurya chuckled.

'I've been wanting to ask you that, too,' Elphaba remembered. She held out her arms for her aunt to see. 'What's with the skin colour thing?'

'Mermaids are generally blue or green coloured,' Aurya said simply. 'I don't know why – perhaps to fit in better with the colours of the ocean. As you can see, my own signature colour is somewhere in between blue and green, while you are a definite green. Your mother was green, too, though a much lighter shade than you are; while your grandmother, mine and Melena's own mother, was a very dark blue.' She shrugged. 'There's not really any logic behind it,' she admitted. 'Our skin sometimes changes its colour slightly as we grow older, but it differs.'

She looked at her niece. 'Any more questions?'

'Not now,' Elphaba said with a small laugh. 'I feel like I'm going crazy already.'

'It's a lot to take in, isn't it?' Aurya patted her arm. 'Don't worry, Fabala, you'll be just fine. Why don't you let it sink in, talk it through with your… family, and… well, you know where to find me.'

She tried to make light of it, but Elphaba caught the small pause before the word 'family', and she knew it must hurt Aurya to realise that she wasn't that. She was, of course, by blood; but she hadn't been around while Elphaba had grown up. She didn't have anyone left, Elphaba suddenly realised. Melena was gone and so was her and Aurya's mother, and Aurya had then been banished, forced to leave everything behind and start over on her own. She suddenly felt a rush of sympathy for her aunt.

In an impulse, she kissed her godmother's cheek. 'For what it's worth,' she said softly, 'you did the right thing by leaving me here. You saved my life, Aurya. And you were right – I have been safe and happy for my entire childhood. Thank you for that.'

Aurya smiled a bit sadly and hugged her niece. 'You're welcome, Fabala.' She pulled away and looked at the girl solemnly. 'I just hope we can start building a relationship again now.'

Elphaba returned the smile. 'I'd love that.'

'Good.' Aurya squeezed her hand, then became practical again. 'We're here,' she said. 'So I'm going to cast the spell that will change you back to your human form. I'll teach it to you next time we meet, so that you can do it for yourself, okay?'

Elphaba nodded. 'Okay.'

'Now,' Aurya said warningly, 'it's a rather heavy spell, especially when it's cast by someone else, and you're not really used to all this magic yet… So there might be side effects. Headache, dizziness – you might lose consciousness again. I'm not sure what will happen, but I promise I'll take care of you, okay? I'm not leaving until you're awake and safe.'

The green girl nodded again. 'I trust you,' she said, and for a moment, Aurya got a faraway look in her eyes, a small smile curling the corners of her lips. 'Thank you.'

She closed her eyes and started chanting. Elphaba felt a little nauseous for a moment, and then everything around her suddenly blurred and started spinning.

Then it all went black.


	25. Chapter 25 Washed Up On The Shore

**AN: Sorry for the long wait! Those of you who also read my other stories already know that my exam week is approaching rapidly; and since I'm pretty much making this story up as I go, it's been hard for me to write it lately. There's just not enough room in my mind for elaborate plots right now. But I promise I'll finish it, if perhaps slowly, and I will probably update more again once my exams are over.**

**Dude. My name is never ever: Right ;).**

**Kudos to those of you who reconised one of Aurya's stories as the original Little Mermaid tale - the one with the girl changing into foam on the sea. I agree - it's really depressing.**

**Ozzie: Thanks to you I have been wasting hours of my life (and time I needed to study) creating Elphaba's with that Disney Heroine Creator. I made her into mermaids, princesses, and brides, until I finally realised what I was doing, came to my senses, and went back to my Statistics book. Thank you very much for that :P.**

**BlueD, you were already in them ;).**

**PocketSevens, that made me laugh so hard xD.**

**EmeraldReine: Your wish is my command.**

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**Chapter 25. Washed up on the shore**

The moment Aurya realised her niece was blacking out, she caught her, swimming up to the surface. When she poked her head out of the water, she exhaled strongly, forcing the water from her lungs. She had always found air much less pleasant to breathe than water – if only because the transfer from breathing in water to breathing in air in itself was so unpleasant.

Elphaba, in her arms, immediately reacted to the change, breaking into a coughing fit as her body tried to work the water out of her lungs. She was still unconscious, though, and Aurya made sure to turn her on her side, allowing the water to escape her body, until it was all gone and the green girl went limp again.

Aurya looked around, only to realise that they were, indeed, close to the beach of Adurin Iir; and so she started making her way over there with Elphaba in her arms.

When she saw a figure in the distance, making its way over towards them, she stilled. She observed the figure for a moment, wondering who it was and if he were to be trusted. She had meant what she had told Elphaba – she wouldn't leave her until she knew that she was safe, which meant she would _not _just dump her on the beach and leave her there for anyone to find.

The figure came closer then, and a wave of relief washed over her when she realised it was Fiyero. She couldn't really think of a better person to find Elphaba.

Slowly but surely, she managed to get close enough to the beach so that the water was shallow enough for her to leave Elphaba there and keep her head out of the water. Since Aurya herself was still in mermaid form, she couldn't get any closer, and so she just swam back and hid behind a protruding piece of rock to watch from a distance what would happen.

Fiyero was just pacing up and down along the beach, walking with long, frustrated strides, staring at the ocean as if it had betrayed him. And to him, it truly did feel that way. Not that the _ocean _could help it that the girl he loved was trapped under the water and that he had been forced to leave her, but still.

He ran his fingers through his hair, wondering frantically what to do next. Was there anything he could do? Anything at all? The mermaid that had saved him had promised him that she would go back to rescue Elphaba, but what if she hadn't? Or what if she had been too late? Or what if she had indeed freed Elphaba, but something even worse had happened to them on their way back? If Elphaba really was free, wouldn't she have been back by now?

He kicked against a pebble, watching it as it bounced into the sea. He scanned the ocean with his eyes as if by staring hard enough, he could force Elphaba to appear.

Then, suddenly, he caught sight of something black and green on the beach ahead of him.

His eyes widened and his heart rate sped up, a sense of déjà vu washing over him. Only this time, he _knew _that the thing on the beach didn't even remotely resemble a sea turtle or a pile of sea weed, as he had thought the first time.

Hardly daring to hope, he ran over to the place where he saw the small lump and fell down onto his knees next to it. He felt like crying when he realised that it was really her, but he set his jaw and forced back his tears. Suddenly, a wave of panic crushed him. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. Was she even alive?

Trying his hardest to stay calm, he reached out to gently brush some of her raven hair away from her face, stroking her cheek. 'Fae?'

A sigh escaped her lips and she stirred, and he felt like dancing with joy as he watched her large brown eyes slowly fluttering open. He continued to stroke her hair, cupping her face with his other hand. 'Fae? Are you alright?'

She blinked a few times, then realised it was really Fiyero hovering over her, and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax. 'Yero…'

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. 'Are you hurt?' he asked anxiously. 'How did you get out of that cave? Are you okay?'

'Yeah,' she mumbled faintly. 'Just dizzy.'

He buried his face in her damp hair and held her close, and she melted into his arms. They stayed like that for a long time, just relishing in the other's presence.

'I'm so glad you're alright,' she whispered finally. 'I was so worried about you.'

'Same here,' he murmured into her hair, trailing his hands down her body as if to assure himself that she was really here. Only then did he notice what he hadn't noticed before, and his eyes widened a little. 'You're not a mermaid anymore!'

She raised her head a little to look at her legs and she wiggled her toes. 'My aunt changed me back.'

'Your aunt?' he repeated. She nodded. 'She saved me.'

She pushed herself up and instinctively turned towards the ocean, searching the surface for any sign of the other mermaid. She smiled when she caught sight of Aurya, appearing from behind a cliff. She waved to let her aunt know that she was okay, and Aurya smiled and waved back before disappearing into the ocean again, reassured now that she had seen for herself that Elphaba was awake and with Fiyero.

Fiyero was staring at the sea in amazement. 'That was your aunt?' he asked in wonder. 'She saved me, too… When I-'

'I know,' Elphaba cut him off softly. 'She told me.' She let out a soft, mirthless laugh. 'In fact, she told me so much over the past hours that I think _that _might be the reason I'm feeling dizzy right now.'

'You're going to have to tell me all of that later,' he told her, caressing her cheek and smiling as he held her closer against him. 'But right now, I think you should rest.'

'Mm,' was her murmured reply, which told him that indeed, she _did _need to rest, or she would have protested. She struggled weakly to get out of his arms and to her feet, but he tightened his grip on her. 'Don't, Fae. You're exhausted. Just let me carry you.'

Too tired even to argue, she allowed him to lift her into his arms and she let her head drop against his shoulder, arms going around his neck. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his heartbeat. 'I love you,' she murmured. 'I missed you.'

He kissed her hair, feeling as if a ten ton weight had been lifted from him now that she was here again. 'I love you, too, _a chroí_,' he whispered. 'I was afraid you might not have gotten away. I'm so happy you're alright.'

She burrowed into his chest, snuggling closer to him, and didn't say anything else. By the time he reached the castle with her, her soft, regular breathing told him that she had fallen asleep right there in his arms.

* * *

When she woke up, the first thing she saw was Fiyero sleeping in the chair beside her bed.

She smiled and pushed herself up to a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She was still feeling a little faint, but she supposed that was just a side effect on Aurya's spell and it would pass soon.

She looked to her side. She couldn't help the soft smile that crept onto her face when she saw him like this, draped across the chair with his legs slung over one arm of it and his elbow leaning on the other, face resting in the palm of his hand. She couldn't imagine him being very comfortable right now, but she loved seeing this side of him. She loved the fact that he would _allow _her to see this side of him – or any side of him, really. She loved that he loved her, and she loved him in return.

She yawned and stretched a little, surprised to notice that it actually felt strange to have legs again instead of a fishtail. It felt a little like it had all been a dream, but of course, it hadn't been. It had all been real. Finally, she knew where she came from, and it felt strange and wonderful at the same time.

Fiyero muttered something unintelligible in his sleep and then moved a little. His hand slipped away from under his cheek, causing his head to bump down against the arm of the chair. He awoke with a startled curse and she giggled softly.

He blinked and rubbed his head, making a face. Then he noticed that she was awake and he sat up a little. 'Fae?'

She smiled at him and he jumped onto the bed with her, hugging her tightly. 'How are you feeling?' he asked, pulling back to look at her.

She softened upon seeing the anxiety in his sapphire blue eyes, realising he had been genuinely worried about her, and she leaned up and kissed him softly. 'I'm fine,' she said softly. 'I promise.'

She could feel the tension leaving his body as he wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against his chest. 'Would you tell me what happened?' he asked quietly.

A chuckle escaped her lips. 'Do you have the rest of the day?'

His grip tightened around her. 'For you? Always.'

She smiled at that, but didn't comply. 'Can we get something to eat first?' she asked. 'I'm starving.'

'Of course!' He jumped off the bed again and helped her up as well. 'It's almost dinnertime, anyway. My parents and Cohvu probably want to hear everything as well – you could tell us during dinner,' he suggested, and she nodded. 'Sure.'

The moment she got downstairs, she was hugged by Lori and Hamold, much to her surprise. 'I was only gone for a day!' she protested, but Lori shook her head. 'Have you got any idea how worried we were?' she demanded. 'Elphaba, if you hadn't gotten out of that cave, you would have been gone _forever_.'

Elphaba decided not to comment on that – it was true, after all. She smirked when Cohvu came up to her and asked, 'Is me being very worried about you a good enough reason for me to hug you?'

She rolled her eyes and spread her arms in a dramatic gesture. 'Come here, you big oaf.'

He laughed and hugged her tightly. 'Good to see you in one piece, El.'

They sat down for dinner after that, and the Tiggulars and Cohvu spent the next few hours bombarding Elphaba with questions as she told them what had happened ever since she and Fiyero had left, since Fiyero hadn't been able to produce a coherent story when he had gotten back on his own. They were all amazed and shocked, to say the least.

'I'm going back after finals,' said Elphaba. 'To get to know my aunt, and the underwater world, and my… my people.' She choked out that last part. 'Why don't you all come with me?' she suggested. 'I mean, if Aurya knows the spell that allows you to breathe under the water, or if she can find it in her spell books…'

Cohvu immediately perked up. 'Yeah! Awesome!'

'Galinda will be here,' Fiyero remembered suddenly. 'She could come, too.'

'One big happy mermaid family,' Cohvu grinned, and Lori and Hamold hesitated, then nodded. 'Alright,' said Lori. 'I'd love to see this all for myself, because honestly, sweetheart, I'm finding it all a little hard to believe.'

'I think that's the understatement of the year,' Elphaba said drily, making the others laugh. 'I completely understand,' she assured Fiyero's parents. 'It's a lot to take in, and I get that you need to see it for yourself to believe it. I'd love to take you all with me if that's possible… for you to meet Aurya, and to see everything she showed me with your own eyes.'

Lori smiled at her. 'If it's possible, Elphaba, of course we'll come with you.'

* * *

'ELPHIE!'

Elphaba made googly eyes and jumped up and down, flapping her arms and squealing, in imitation of her friend. 'GALINDA!'

The blonde scowled. 'There's no need to make fun of me, Elphie.' Then she squealed and hugged the green girl. 'Oh, it's so good to see you! I missed you so much!'

'I missed you, too, Glin.'

'And everything that happened! Elphie, you have a _boyfriend_!'

Elphaba looked to her side, where Fiyero was standing. 'Of course she would find that more important than the fact that I turned out to be a mermaid princess.'

He laughed and Galinda squealed again. 'Yes, Elphie, you have to tell me _everything_! I can't believe it, it's so thrillifying! Did you mean what you told me in your last letter? That you're going to take me with you?'

Elphaba nodded. 'All of you, in fact,' she said with a smile.

She was rewarded with another squeal.

Galinda turned to greet Fiyero next, then launched herself onto her boyfriend, apparently attempting to suck his face off. Elphaba rolled her eyes and turned her back on them, raising an eyebrow at Fiyero. 'Since they're going to be busy for another while… what shall we do?'

'Nothing!' Galinda quickly grabbed both their wrists and pulled them with her. 'We're going to sit down, and then you three are going to tell me _everything _that happened while I was away! Everything! Up until the last tiny detail! Everything about you two,' she nodded towards Fiyero and Elphaba, 'getting together, and everything about the whole underwater-aunt-Sea-Witch-mermaid-princess-thing, and oh, how did your finals go?'

'Elphaba topped the year,' Fiyero said proudly. 'She had to give a speech at our graduation ceremony. It was really beautiful.'

Elphaba just rolled her eyes.

Galinda eyed him suspiciously. 'And you, Fifi?'

He grinned at her, and this time it was Elphaba that was beaming with pride. 'He passed! I knew he could do it, and he did!'

Galinda smiled. 'That's wonderful, Fifi! Congratulotions!' She looked at Cohvu. 'I assume you did, too?'

He nodded. 'Not quite as gloriously as Elphaba did, but I did pass, yes.'

Galinda squealed once again and threw her arms around all three of her friends, hugging them tightly. 'Guys, we're going to Shiz together!' She bounced, then settled down and looked at her friends eagerly. 'Now tell me all!'

* * *

**Also, for those of you who don't know already: I started yet another new story. *hides away in a corner* It's called 'Blow my mind' and it's just some fluffy Shiz-era Fiyeraba. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd love for you to check it out and tell me what you think :).**


	26. Chapter 26 Down Under

**AN: Update!**

**Ozzie, don't feel guilty, it was my own fault :P.**

**TeenageDream123, thank you for reviewing again! :) That must have been amazing, her last performance... the only last performance I've ever attended was the very final performance of Wicked here in the Netherlands, but I heard that the international ones are usually much more emotional. I'm still hoping to see someone's last performance abroad one day, but no luck so far (more like, no time and no money).**

**Kudos and virtual home-made apple pie for Dude. My name is never ever, for being the 300th reviewer on this story! Yay! :D**

**I'm not sure how much longer this story is going to get; probably not as long as Shadows, which was 43 chapters, but I think it might be close. Lots of things still need to happen (thing I've already written in advance and can't wait to see your murderous reactions too). I'm sorry for the many filler chapter, but it'll get better, I promise.**

* * *

**Chapter 26. Down under**

'If I'm going to be a mermaid, can I have a pink fishtail?' Galinda asked excitedly. 'With sparkles all over? Pretty please?'

Cohvu sniggered and kissed the top of his girlfriend's head. 'Oh, Glin,' he said affectionately. 'You are so adorable.'

She pouted. 'Why?'

Elphaba rolled her eyes. 'You're not going to be mermaids,' she told her friend. 'You're just going to be able to breathe under the water, that's all. And even if you _would _be mermaids, I doubt whether you could pick your own fishtail.'

Galinda sighed in defeat. 'Well, it was worth the try.'

In the weeks since Elphaba's last visit, the green girl had spent hours in the library of Adurin Iir, looking through the spell books she found there and trying out some easier spells. She found that if she concentrated, she could indeed cast those spells successfully, which Fiyero thought was incredible. She had also tried to practice her other magic powers, but those still seemed to react only to her emotions and thus she hadn't gotten very far. Still, the fact that she now had at least _some _control over her powers made her feel better, and at least now she knew where they came from.

Today, Lori and Hamold, as well as Galinda, Cohvu, and Fiyero, would accompany her and Aurya under the water. Aurya would take them to the kingdom beneath the sea; she herself had been banished from it and thus couldn't return, but she had explained exactly to Elphaba what everything was like and which places she should visit. Elphaba hadn't wanted to go without her aunt, but Aurya had told her that she wanted her niece to get to know the people that were rightfully hers. 'Elphaba, I understand that this is a hard decision,' she'd said. 'But I don't think you can make _any _decision about this if you don't know everything about it. You need to get out there, get to know the kingdom, meet the people, go back to your roots.'

Elphaba had finally agreed, and so here they were today, on the beach, waiting for Aurya to take them below the surface.

The mermaid appeared soon enough, and after everyone had introduced themselves, Aurya looked at Elphaba. 'I found the breathing spell in one of the spell books I have at home,' she said. 'I learned it by heart. Are you all ready?'

Everyone nodded, and Aurya softly chanted something. They all waited in anticipation, but nothing happened.

Galinda looked disappointed. 'Nothing?'

Fiyero, whom the spell had already been cast on once before, laughed. 'What, you expected disco lights and sparkles?'

'I expected _something_,' the blonde said, but Aurya shook her head. 'It worked, trust me,' she assured them. 'Magic is not always visible.'

Elphaba looked at her aunt. 'Those spell books,' she began. 'Could you show me those sometime during our visit?'

'Of course!' Aurya winked at her. 'Always wanting to learn more, aren't you?'

Elphaba gave her a sheepish grin. 'I'd really love to see them and learn more about the entire mermaid thing,' she said sincerely. 'The books at Adurin Iir contained some pretty amazing spells, but the books you have are designed especially for mermaid magic.' Her eyes were shining at the mere thought, and Galinda rolled her eyes. 'You and books!' she complained, making them all laugh.

Cohvu looked at the mermaid excitedly. 'Can we go now?' he asked eagerly, and Aurya smiled. 'Alright then. Well, if you'll follow me,' she said, swimming further into the ocean with Elphaba and Fiyero following close behind.

'So how do I change myself into a mermaid?' the green girl asked, and Aurya quickly taught her the spell. 'Becoming a human is the same one,' she said. 'Try to learn it by heart – it can really come in handy sometimes.'

Elphaba cast the spell and, before everyone's stunned eyes, turned into a mermaid once again. Fiyero reached out for the tail admiringly. 'The second time is just as awesome as the first one…'

'Stop it,' she warned him as he made to touch her tail, and he quickly yanked his hand back, a sheepish expression on his face. 'Sorry.'

Galinda squealed. 'Oh, Elphie! That is so amazifying!' she gushed. She scrunched up her nose. 'I mean, it's not pink, and it's not really sparkly, either… but still, this is so cool! I want a tail! Can I have a tail?'

They all laughed at that, easing the tension a little. Elphaba could tell that the others really needed some time to adjust to the fact that not only was one of them actually a mermaid; they were breathing under the water themselves as well. She remembered her own first experience with that, and grimaced. She could understand that it took some getting used to.

"Shall we go?" Aurya suggested. Elphaba looked at her friends. 'Are you all ready?'

Galinda squealed again. 'Yes!' She pulled Cohvu with her, then found that that was not so easy under the water and started just treading water. 'Coco, work with me here!'

He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. 'Come on, then. Let's go.'

As they swam, Galinda was squealing as she pointed out everything that was 'amazifying' to Cohvu, from coral, to shells, to fish. Hamold and Lori swam up to the front to talk to Aurya, asking her all kinds of questions about both Aurya's own life and everything she knew about Elphaba's.

Elphaba was lost in thought when she felt someone swimming up next to her. Fiyero laced their fingers together and squeezed her hand. 'Hey. How are you?'

'Fine,' she answered truthfully. She looked at him. 'What about you?' she asked softly. 'I mean, the last time you were here, you almost…'

'Drowned?' Fiyero supplied. She glared at him. 'You just _had _to say that out loud, didn't you?'

He laughed. 'Fae, I got out in time, didn't I? I didn't drown. I'm not traumatised or anything.'

'Yes, well, maybe _I _am,' she snapped at him.

_That _silenced him. He blinked at her for a few moments. 'Are you?'

She sighed. 'No,' she said gruffly. 'Not _really_. But I don't like you talking about it as if it's something that happened to you every day. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life as I was that day,' she confessed softly, then added, 'except for when you got hit by that carriage a few months ago.'

He cringed. 'I just keep on scaring the living daylights out of anyone, huh?'

She couldn't help but smile at that. 'And you're not even trying.' She squeezed his hand. 'This time will be different, though. Now Aurya knows the spell, and she would never let you drown. Neither would I. Plus,' she added sarcastically, 'it's kind of an improvement that we won't be locked in a cave this time.'

He chuckled and swam a little bit closer to her so that he could kiss her cheek. 'I love you.'

She blushed, but she was smiling. 'I love you, too.'

* * *

It took them some time to reach the borders of the kingdom, but when they did, Aurya stopped. 'This is it,' she said. 'I can't go any further.'

'Are you going home?' asked Elphaba, and Aurya nodded. 'Do you think you can find it by yourself? When you're ready to leave here? Like I said, it's not far – just locate the palace where the royal family lives, it's not that hard to find, and then you move west until you-'

'I remember, Aurya,' Elphaba interrupted her aunt with a chuckle. 'You already told me a thousand times. I'm good at directions. We'll find our way back to you.'

Aurya smiled. 'Good. Now, Elphaba, the breathing spell is this.' She taught Elphaba the words. 'I expect you to be back by tonight, but should something unexpected happen, at least you know how to keep your friends alive.'

Elphaba suppressed a shudder and repeated the words in her head, determined to imprint them in her memory forever. 'Thank you.'

'Have fun today.' Aurya kissed Elphaba's cheek and waved at the others.

Before anyone could so much as move, Galinda squealed again. 'Oh my Oz,' she gushed, 'is that a _hair salon_? Under _water_?' She was gone within a clock-tick.

Cohvu sniggered. 'She's never going to change, is she?'

Fiyero, recognising the fond and loving look on his friend's face, elbowed Cohvu in the stomach. 'You would never want her to.'

Cohvu's smile broadened. 'True. I love her in all her frilly, pink, squealing fluffiness.'

They all laughed and followed Galinda over the border.

Elphaba's heart was pounding in her chest. She was in her mother's kingdom now… _her _kingdom. It was hard to grasp. It felt strange and familiar at the same time, and as she looked around her, she felt like she should recognise some of her surroundings.

'Hello.' A mermaid cautiously swam up to them. 'Are you new here?' she asked. 'I've never seen any of you here before.'

'Hi!' Galinda gushed. 'I'm Galinda Upland,' she introduced herself, 'of the _Upper _Uplands.'

'Uplands?' The girl looked confused. Then her eyes widened. 'Are you… are you from above?'

'Land, you mean?' Galinda nodded enthusiastically. 'Yes, we are! We're human! Nice to meet you!'

Elphaba watched the mermaid's reaction a bit anxiously. She had no idea how the merpeople felt about humans coming to visit their world, but much to her surprise, the other mermaid smiled excitedly. 'Oh, that is so wonderful! I've always wanted to go up there,' she confided in Galinda, 'but my father won't let me. Once I'm eighteen, he says. Well, that's not too long a wait anymore! Could I visit you once? You know, when I finally am allowed to go ashore?'

'Of course!' Galinda giggled, and the girls lapsed into a conversation that basically revolved around the differences in fashion between the underwater world and the human world.

The other exchanged looks.

Someone touched Elphaba's arm, and when she looked to her side, she saw that it was Lori. 'Look,' she whispered, and Elphaba followed her gaze. What she saw then made her breath catch in her throat.

The palace of the royal family was entirely made out of a shimmering, white marble, with pink coral roofs and windows. It was enormous, rising above the houses as if it was watching over them. Merpeople were swimming in and out, and Elphaba blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't imagining things. It was…

'It's beautiful,' she whispered, and Lori squeezed her hand. 'And apparently, it's your home.'

That was even harder to understand than anything else.

Cohvu appeared next to them, and he whistled. 'You know, Elphaba,' he said a bit jealously, 'you are one lucky kid. You were born in a palace and you grew up in a castle. When do I get _my _share of royalty?'

The young mermaid chuckled at that, and Lori grinned at Cohvu. 'Want to move in with us?'

'Nah, I couldn't do that to my parents.' He waved his hand in the air. 'But thanks for the offer.'

Lori rolled her eyes.

'Come on, guys!' Galinda squealed, swimming up to them and tugging at Elphaba's hand. 'This is Aimee, and she's going to give us a tour!'

Her new mermaid friend, however, had stopped swimming and was now taking in Elphaba's appearance, frowning slightly. 'You're not human,' she said curiously. 'Are you from down here?'

Elphaba hesitated. 'Um… not exactly,' she confessed. 'I mean… I was born here, but I only found out fairly recently that I'm actually a mermaid. I grew up on the land.'

Aimee's eyes had widened. 'Wait a moment,' she breathed. 'What's your name?'

'Elphaba,' the green girl replied, confused as to the reaction of her fellow mermaid, but Aimee's eyes widened even further upon hearing that name. 'Oh my Oz!' she screeched. 'You're the missing princess!'

Shocked, Galinda and Elphaba shared a look.

Galinda touched Aimee's shoulder. 'Care to explain?'

'You do know, right?' Aimee asked Elphaba excitedly. 'I don't believe this! All my life, I've been hearing stories about Princess Elphaba – you disappeared one day, and no one knew where you were, so you were assumed murdered, like your mother… but here you are! I don't believe this, this is amazing! You're her, aren't you?'

'I am,' Elphaba admitted reluctantly. 'But Aimee, you can't tell anyone.'

Aimee's face fell. 'What? Why not?' she demanded. 'This is huge news, El- I mean, Your Highness!'

Elphaba winced. '_Please _don't call me that!' she begged. It was so foreign, all of this, and her head was spinning. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

'I'll tell the people,' Elphaba promised the other mermaid quietly. 'Someday. But Aimee, there's a lot going on and it's very important that my presence here remains a secret for now. Okay?'

Aimee looked doubtful, but nodded. 'Okay.'

'So you're going to call me Elphaba,' the green girl continued, 'and you're just going to give us a tour. Show us everything that is worth seeing down here.'

Aimee's face brightened. 'My pleasure, Your High- I mean, Elphaba. I'd love to! Come on, guys, let's go!' She pulled Galinda with her, the others following closely.

* * *

They spent the entire day sightseeing, as Aimee took them to the most beautiful places under the ocean. The buildings, the people… everything was equally wonderful. But Elphaba could also feel the fear lingering in the streets. She noticed the way people averted their gazes, not looking at one another directly; the hushed whispers in which they spoke about the more important subjects; and Elphaba heard Morrible's name being mentioned in a conversation or two, at which every merman involved in the conversation involuntarily cringed.

When she asked Aimee about it, the mermaid confirmed what Elphaba already knew: the people were terrified of Morrible. 'A good leader?' Aimee snorted. 'She doesn't care for us at all. She throws around magic to scare us and keep us in check, she gets merpeople arrested for the simplest of crimes… she's not above murder,' she added softly. 'It's not like she goes around murdering people left and right, but she doesn't hesitate for a moment to do so to set an example, or if it serves her own purposes. She's cruel, Elphaba.' Aimee looked up at the green girl with hope shining brightly in her eyes. 'You could make this all better.'

Elphaba didn't know what to say.

When they were reunited with Aurya that night, the others – especially Galinda – chattered on and on about all the beautiful things they'd seen, but Elphaba stayed awfully quiet; and when Aurya managed to get the green girl alone for a moment, she asked her what was wrong.

Elphaba sighed. 'It's just…' She bit her lip. 'I can see how unhappy the people are,' she said quietly. 'And that girl… Aimee… she was so happy when she found out who I was. She said I could make this all better, and then I started thinking, and I realised… she's right. I am the rightful Crown Princess,' she said, her voice strong despite the fact that she felt like she wasn't sure about anything anymore. 'I have the power to make it better, and it makes me wonder whether I can really make the selfish choice and turn my back on my people.'

'Is that what you want?' Aurya asked her. 'Not to turn your back on your people, of course, but to go back ashore and stay there?'

Elphaba buried her face in her hands. 'I don't know,' she said, her voice muffled. 'I really don't know.'

Then she thought about something else. 'Aurya… there's something else I also want to do,' she said. 'Lori and Hamold will be going back home tomorrow – could you take them?'

'Of course,' Aurya assured her, and Elphaba hesitated. 'And could you… keep an eye on Glin and Cohvu and Fiyero for me tomorrow?'

Aurya furrowed her brow, and Elphaba explained what she wanted to do. Aurya nodded slowly. 'I understand,' she said with a smile. 'I'll keep them entertained for the day. We may not be able to go back to the kingdom, but there's plenty of other places under water that we can visit. Won't you rather take Fiyero with you, though?'

She hesitated, then shook her head. 'He would slow me down,' she said, 'and I'm not planning on making this a long trip – I want to be back again as soon as possible. Plus, this is just something… something I need to do for me. To get closure, and to clear a few things up… though I'm not planning on anything coming from it.'

Aurya squeezed her hand. 'Well, good luck,' she said. 'I hope you'll find what you're looking for.'

'Me, too,' Elphaba muttered.

Aurya smiled at her understandingly. 'Come on, let's cast that breathing spell over your friends again and then we should go to sleep. It's been a long day.'

Elphaba sighed in agreement. 'You can say that again.'


	27. Chapter 27 Home Sweet Home

**AN: Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews! You're all so awesome :).**

**Vinkunwildflowerqueen, yes, that's exactly how I pictured it :). Don't we all think 'Atlantica' whenever we read about an underwater palace?**

**And you do know that I'm going to put a reference to that penis-shaped column in this story now, don't you? I must admit, I didn't know about it. Then I read your review and I looked it up, and I was like, 'Oh my Oz, it _does _look like a penis!' and then I spent an hour rolling over the floor with laughter.**

* * *

**Chapter 27. Home sweet home**

'Hello, Governor Thropp.'

As if stung, Frexspar jumped to his feet, staring at the green girl in the doorway of his study in utter bewilderment. 'Miss Elphaba?' he asked, baffled. 'What are you doing here? I thought you said you were living in the Vinkus – how did you even get here?'

'I swam.'

He exhaled slowly. 'So it is true, then,' he said quietly. 'You really are Melena's daughter.'

She studied him for a moment, genuinely curious about this man and the life he had led so far. 'You don't know,' she said in mild surprise, and it was more a statement than a question. 'Do you?'

He shifted a bit uncomfortably. 'Know what?'

She chose not to answer that yet. Instead, she sat down in the chair opposite his desk. 'What do you know about my mother?' she asked him.

He sighed. 'I loved her,' he said simply. 'She was beautiful, mysterious… it was only later on that I found out where she was really from.'

'The ocean,' Elphaba whispered, and he nodded. 'I never knew for sure if I should believe that,' he admitted. 'I mean, it sounds absolutely insane. A mermaid queen… and I never knew if she _did _tell the truth. She just disappeared one day, and never came back.'

'It's true.'

'That's what I thought when you said you came here swimming.'

She smiled involuntarily at his logic. 'Yes, well, I admit, it took some getting used to. But I can assure you that it's all true.'

He remained silent for a while, processing this. Then he looked up again. 'Why are you here?'

She took a deep breath, then blurted it out. 'Because I wanted to meet my father again, now that I know that he is, in fact, my father.'

His stunned eyes met hers as she waited for the meaning behind her words to sink in. Frex just gaped at her for a while. 'I… you…'

'I'm Melena's daughter,' she reminded him. 'She loved you. For as far as I know, she's never even _been _with another man. You're my father.'

More silence. Frex looked about ready to faint, and quickly gulped down a glass of water that was standing on his desk as he tried to regain his composure.

Strangely enough, his first question was, 'Is that even possible? For a human and a mermaid to…'

She chuckled softly. 'There's living proof in front of you,' she pointed out. 'I'm half human and half mermaid.'

He nodded, still pale. 'I see.' He cleared his throat. 'Well, then… um… it's nice to see you again, Miss Elphaba.'

'You can drop the honorific now,' she said drily, and he blinked at her. 'Oh. Yes. Right. Elphaba…' He thought about it for a moment. Then his eyes lit up and Elphaba knew what he was about to ask. She also knew that she would have to tell him the truth, no matter how much that would hurt him.

Before he could even say anything, she slowly shook her head, and Frex closed his eyes for a moment, trying to regain his composure. 'She's not…'

'I'm sorry, Governor Thropp,' said Elphaba softly. 'She died when I was six.'

He nodded again. 'I see,' he said simply, but she could tell that he was shaken by that news. 'How… how did it happen?'

She wished she had better news for him. 'She was poisoned.'

He became even paler, almost gray. 'She… _what_?'

'Do you have a few hours?' Elphaba asked wryly. 'I think there's a lot we need to talk about.'

He nodded once more. 'Of course,' he said faintly. 'I… I want to know what happened. Tell me everything you know.'

And she did. She told him about her life, about Morrible and about her aunt Aurya, and she told him everything she had heard about her mother. He didn't interrupt once, just sat there with his chin resting on his hands, calm on the outside, but she could see the emotions in his eyes. No matter how cold and stiff he seemed to be, she realised, he was still only human. He had loved a woman once, then lost her; he must have fallen in love with another woman after that – Nessarose's mother – and he had lost her, too, and now he was all alone with his crippled daughter… and here she came barging in telling him that his first love was dead and that he had another daughter he had never known about.

When she was done, he looked at her silently for a few long moments. Then he opened his mouth and said quietly, 'You look like her.'

Elphaba didn't say anything.

'A lot.' Frex studied her intently for a moment. 'And the way you talk, the way you express yourself… you're like her in almost every aspect.'

She just blinked at him.

'But you have my eyes,' he said quietly. 'And I bet I would see more of myself in you if we were to get to know one another better.'

She still didn't say anything, just shifted a bit uncomfortably on her chair. What could she say to that, after all?

'Why did you come, Elphaba?' Frex asked her finally, and she took a breath, shaking her head.

'I'm not here to ask you for anything,' she said honestly. 'I don't want money, or even a father-daughter relationship. It's not why I'm here. I suppose I just wanted…' She shrugged. 'I wanted to see you again, now that I know you're my father,' she said. 'And I wanted to know if you knew.'

'I didn't,' he whispered. 'Melena never told me.' He looked up at her. 'You don't want a relationship?'

She shrugged again. 'Honestly? I don't know,' she admitted. 'If you don't want it, then I'll just go and I won't come back. If you do, however… I'm not sure how I would feel about that. I mean, it's a lot to take in all at once.' She thought about it for a moment. 'Can we do this later?' she asked. 'After this whole mess with Morrible and my aunt and the merpeople has been sorted out?'

'Of course.' He gave her a quivery half-smile. 'I understand you have more important issues at hand right now. How about you send me a letter, or you visit, once you're ready?'

She returned his smile. 'I will.' She made to get up, then hesitated. 'Do you… do you have more time?'

'I don't have to be anywhere until late in the afternoon,' Frex said, and she nodded. 'Could you…' She swallowed and looked at him. 'Could you tell me about her?' she asked quietly. 'I mean… Aurya told me about her life under the sea, but… but I'd like to know more about her. About the way _you_ knew her.'

There was pain in his eyes, she noticed, but there was also love. He heaved a sigh, then smiled again. 'Of course,' he agreed. 'I'll tell you everything I know.'

* * *

'Would you _never _do such a thing again!'

Elphaba pinched Fiyero's cheek, as if he were a small child. 'Hello to you, too. What happened to 'hey, Fae, good to see you, how was your day?' Well, thank you for asking, Fiyero. My day was very good, how was yours?'

He looked like he was going to explode.

'Elphie,' Galinda said sternly, 'this is _not _okay. You cannot just disappear on us like that!'

'I didn't disappear!' Elphaba protested. 'Aurya knew where I went, and she told you, didn't she?'

Fiyero was glowering. 'That doesn't mean we liked it!'

Elphaba sighed. 'Yero,' she said softly. 'This was just something I had to do by myself, okay? Can you understand that?'

He grumbled some more, but she knew that he could never stay angry with her when she used his nickname. She slipped her arms around his neck and batted her eyelashes at him in a very Galinda-like way. 'Pretty please, Yero?'

Cohvu and Aurya both burst into a fit of snorting laughter and Galinda patted Elphaba's head. 'Yay for Elphie!' she cheered. 'I knew you'd pick up on it one day!'

Elphaba flashed her a grin. 'I had a good teacher, Glin.'

The blonde beamed. 'True. I'm the Queen of Wrapping Boys Around My Little Finger.'

Elphaba laughed and Fiyero rested his hands on her waist. 'I understand,' he sighed. 'I just don't _like _it.'

'It won't happen again,' she promised, and he nuzzled her cheek. 'It better not,' he said, trying to sound threatening, but he was smiling, which kind of ruined the effect.

'So, how _was _your day?' Aurya asked curiously, and Elphaba thought about that for a moment. 'It was… good,' she said, almost surprised at that conclusion herself. 'I mean… I'm not sure what I expected when I went there, but it really was good. We talked. He… he didn't know. That he's my father. And he told me about her – about Melena. It was nice to finally talk to… to my father.'

Fiyero softly squeezed her shoulder and she leaned into him. He knew how she had been longing to know who her parents were, and she had confided in him once that she was afraid she would never find out. She couldn't talk to her mother anymore, but now she had finally spoken to her father, and he was glad that she had been given that opportunity.

'So, what did you guys do?' asked Elphaba. Galinda immediately started chattering about all the things they'd seen in the kingdom of the merpeople today, with Cohvu enthusiastically filling in details she forgot. The green girl smiled as she looked at her friends, but the smile was a little bit sad.

'What do you want to do tomorrow?' Aurya asked her now. 'We could go over the spell books, or you could go back to the people…'

Elphaba tilted her head a little to the side, thinking that over. 'I'd like to go over the spell books,' she said. 'Maybe something useful is in there.'

Aurya nodded, but then, her niece added, 'And the day after that, I want to announce my presence to the people.'

Galinda gaped at her with wide eyes. Aurya frowned. 'Elphaba…'

'I want them to know that I'm still alive,' the young mermaid said. 'I want them to know about Morrible's lies, that she wasn't telling the truth. That I'm their Crown Princess and that Melena was not murdered by Aurya, but by Morrible herself.'

'I don't think that's a good idea, Elphaba,' Aurya said tentatively.

Elphaba looked at her. 'The people deserve the truth,' she said simply. 'And _you _deserve to be treated again like the princess you are, instead of like a traitor and a murderer.'

'Well, _I_, for one, agree with Elphaba,' Cohvu declared, swimming up next to his friend. 'She's right. The people should know.'

'But Morrible!' Galinda protested. 'What if she finds out that Elphie is here?'

Elphaba snorted. 'As if she doesn't already.'

Galinda looked terrified. 'Do you really think so?' she asked in a small voice, and Elphaba sighed. 'Glin… she's a Sea Witch. I've been swimming all around the ocean for the past two days. I think she knows I'm here, yes, though I'm not sure what she'll do with that knowledge. Send someone after me to kill me, probably.'

Galinda let out a squeak. Fiyero paled visibly.

The dark-haired girl looked up at him, softly kissing his cheek in an attempt to reassure him. 'I'll be fine,' she promised. 'But this is exactly why the people need to know. If they know, they won't accept Morrible anymore. We could defeat her – for good.'

Cohvu sighed. 'El, I sure hope you know what you're doing.'

'So do I,' she said drily, and he grinned at her.

'Then I'm in.'

'Me, too!' Galinda squealed. 'Let's go murder some Sea Witches!'

Elphaba looked amused, and Aurya smiled. 'I think you're very brave, Elphaba,' she said quietly. 'You're… you're a lot like your mother.'

Elphaba smiled a bit faintly. 'That's what Frex said.'

'It's true.' Aurya's face softened. 'She would have been proud of you.'

There was suddenly a lump in Elphaba's throat, so instead of replying, she swam over to her aunt and hugged the other mermaid tightly. Aurya hugged her back. When she pulled away, she kept one hand on Elphaba's other, using the other to smooth her niece's hair away from her face. 'Be careful,' she said.

'Never.'

That made Aurya smile. She softly kissed Elphaba's forehead, then let her go. 'Alright, then. Let's make a plan.'

* * *

Elsewhere, Morrible was fuming with rage.

'How dare she?' she hissed at one of her servants. 'How dare she come back here?'

The poor servant looked absolutely terrified, and she started weeping and cowering in a corner when Morrible struck a wall with her magic, crumbling parts of it down. '_How dare she_?'

'Well…' a voice behind her said drily. 'She _is _the Crown Princess, after all.'

Morrible spun around to glare at the owner of the voice. He was a merman, an assassin, to be exact, whom she had called for. She knew he was known for doing jobs for anyone that paid him, no matter how nasty or horrible the job was, which was exactly why she had picked him. 'I want you to find her.'

The man quirked an eyebrow. 'The Crown Princess?'

Morrible growled in frustration. 'No, the Wizard of Oz! Of course the Crown Princess! You'll recognise her when you see her – she has emerald green skin and black hair, like her aunt. Other than that, she looks exactly like her mother. Find her. Track her down. Kill anyone who gets in your way.'

The assassin nodded calmly. 'And what do you want me to do with her once I've found her?'

Morrible knew he was just playing stupid, but it frustrated her to no end. 'Kiss her,' she said sarcastically. 'What do you think? Work _with _me here. You're an assassin – what do you _think _your job is?'

The assassin smirked at the older woman – she was so easily annoyed. 'Well, if the Crown Princess is cute, I wouldn't mind kissing her all that much.'

Morrible's glare could freeze lava. 'Find her,' she said through clenched teeth. 'And _kill her_.'


	28. Chapter 28 Young And Unafraid

**AN: Again, a filler...**

**TheWickedrae: Both? O:)**

**TheLilyReviwer: I don't have Tumblr, sorry :(. You should really create a Fanfiction account, though!**

**Elphaba'sGirl: No, nothing's up, I'm fine ;). I'm still a bit shaken because ofthe incident from last Wednesday (the one I described in my Happy Ending AN), but other than that, I'm fine. The many updates have several reasons. **

**1) I had some parts of chapters and oneshots sitting in My Documents, and after what happened Wednesday, I just really needed to get my mind off that, so I decided to work them all out and post them. Figured lots of updates wouldn't hurt, since it was also Wicked's 10th anniversary and stuff.**

**2) I felt kind of guilty. I feel like I haven't been updating much lately (before Wednesday, anyway) and when I did update, I felt like it was just... bad. The thing is, I have some beautiful scenes written out for this story, but I need stuff to put in the story _before _that, and I haven't been having much inspiration lately; so all I've been giving you is filler chapters, which, frankly, I'm too lazy to even edit properly, because I really don't like them myself. So I felt a little guilty and I figured lots of updates would kind of make up for it.**

**Furthermore, I am currently working on an original story. Because no matter how much I love writing fanfiction, my real dream is to actually publish a book. I hope this will be it.**

**Anyway, I hope next chapter will be better.**

* * *

**Chapter 28. Young and unafraid**

The entire kingdom was buzzing with the news: the true Crown Princess of the kingdom had returned.

Quite frankly, it unnerved Fiyero to no end. 'Fae,' he said pleadingly. 'If _they _know, so does Morrible. You're practically handing yourself over to her!'

Galinda squeaked uncomfortably at that, but Elphaba was remarkably calm. 'Exactly,' was all she said.

Cohvu's eyes widened. 'I know that look in your eyes,' he muttered. 'It's not good.'

Elphaba grinned at him.

'Seriously, though,' Fiyero insisted. 'What are you planning?'

Elphaba shrugged innocently. 'Defeating her?'

Galinda shrieked. '_Elphie_!'

Aurya was frowning. 'Now, Elphaba, don't you think you should –'

'No, I do not need to think about this,' the green girl cut her off. 'I did think about it. I made my decision. I have to defeat Morrible. I met those people, and they don't deserve what that old witch is doing to them. They're _my _people, Aurya. _I _am their rightful ruler, and it's time I start acting like one.'

Fiyero shifted a bit uneasily, not liking where this conversation was going. 'Fae…'

Galinda looked a little pale, her lower lip trembling. 'Elphie… are you saying that…' she began, her voice trailing away.

Elphaba shook her head violently. 'I'm not saying _anything_, Glin, other than that I want to defeat Morrible,' she said firmly. 'This is something I can and should do, and I _will _do it.'

Cohvu sighed. 'Well, I'm still in,' he said, earning himself a smile from his mermaid friend.

'Come on,' Elphaba said, extending her hand for Fiyero to take, then looking at the others. 'Let's go find that old hag.'

Their plan was… well, to be quite honest, it was not much of a plan. Aurya had taught Elphaba how to use bits and pieces of her magic. Now that the people knew about Elphaba's existence, she wanted to go to the palace and confront Morrible.

Her aunt – and her friends as well – had tried to convince her of the fact that this was a bad idea, but Elphaba insisted it needed to be done. She was dragging along a spell book, she had practised her magic, and she felt like she was ready.

And so not too long after leaving Aurya's home, the four friends found themselves in front of the underwater palace Morrible was currently occupying.

'It's soooo pretty,' Galinda swooned, looking up at the shimmering building in admiration. 'It should be a crime for an ugly old Sea Witch like Morrible to live in such a beautiful palace!'

Elphaba sniggered. 'You've never met Morrible,' she pointed out. 'How do you know she's ugly and old?'

'Well, is she?' Galinda asked pointedly. Elphaba scrunched up her nose.

'Yeah,' she admitted, and the blonde cast her a triumphant grin.

Cohvu leaned over towards Fiyero, muttering in his friend's ear, 'Does that column over there look like a penis to you?'

Fiyero almost choked on a mouthful of sea water. He followed Cohvu's gaze, located the column his friend was talking about, and immediately burst into an almost hysterical fit of snorting laughter, Cohvu soon joining him.

Frankly, the mere fact that there was a column of the palace that resembled a certain part of the male body wasn't all _that_ funny. It was probably partly the fact that their friend, a girl they'd known all their lives, was about to confront a dangerous witch and might very well not make it out alive; and partly the fact that this whole underwater-mermaid-princess thing still seemed utterly ridiculous to them; but no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't stop laughing.

Galinda and Elphaba now turned out to face them, eyeing them with raised eyebrows. 'And what, pray tell,' Elphaba said drily, 'is so funny, if you don't mind me asking?'

'There's a…' Cohvu hiccupped with laughter. 'There's a column…'

'It looks exactly like a you-know-what!' Fiyero roared, and Galinda looked confused. Elphaba turned around to inspect the palace, then sighed as her eyes fell upon the column in question. 'Seriously? How old are you, exactly?' she demanded, faintly amused.

Galinda now discovered the column as well and her face went beet red. 'For real?' she said in an even higher voice than usual. 'Coco, that isn't funny! That's… that's… atrociocifying!'

'Atrocious,' Elphaba muttered next to her.

'Disgustifying!'

'Disgusting.'

'_Horrendible_!' Galinda continued without so much as pausing to take a breath. 'That is not a laughing matter!'

'Horrible.'

'Shut up, Elphie!' Elphaba was sure her friend would have stomped her foot, had she been able to. 'What does it matter if my vocabulations aren't all that great?'

'Vocabulary. Single, not plural.'

Galinda gave a frustrated shriek, throwing her hands up in the air – water – and glaring at her friends. 'Fine,' she snapped. 'Whatever. I'll just shut up. I won't say another word. Okay?'

'Okay,' Elphaba agreed a little too cheerfully for Galinda's liking. The blonde huffed and crossed her arms.

Fiyero and Cohvu had recovered from their laughing fit and were now both looking at Elphaba a bit sheepishly. She shook her head. 'Never mind,' she sighed. 'Can we just go now?'

'You know what?' Galinda said suddenly. 'No. No, we can't just go now. Elphie, I've been trying to be a supportive friend – we all have – and I know you don't want to hear this, but someone has to say it. This is insane. You're out of your mind. You can't do this.' She made wild arm gestures. 'You can't just barge in, defeat Morrible, and barge back out again! It doesn't work like that! I don't even know what you were thinking – you're usually so rational and practical, and _this_ is just… it's so very unlike you to do something this… this _stupid_!'

She was panting a little after that rant, and Elphaba, as well as the boys, just gawked at her for a few moments.

Finally, Cohvu opened his mouth. 'I didn't want to say it, either,' he said hesitantly. 'But… well… Glin is right, you know.'

'But…' Elphaba started protesting weakly. Fiyero lay his hand on her arm and she turned around to face him, eyes huge and, he could see now, filled with fear. 'Fae…'

Somehow, that did it. Something snapped inside of her and before she knew it, she was crying.

Fiyero immediately wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his shoulder. 'I… I just…' She sniffled, trying to regain her composure, but failing. 'I just have no idea what to do, and…' That was as far as she could get without bursting into tears again.

The others shared a look. They understood, of course; frankly, they had been waiting for Elphaba to break down ever since this whole circus had started. It was just too much for her.

'If I don't do this now, then what _am _I supposed to do?' Elphaba whispered after she'd calmed down a little. 'I just don't _know_… I'm the Crown Princess, I'm supposed to rule these people, and I… I have to do _something_, I just don't know _what_!'

'Ssh.' Fiyero held her close, rubbing her back. He planted a kiss on her forehead. 'You'll be fine, Fae,' he told her. 'We're all here to help you. But this, rushing into a confrontation with Morrible… this isn't the right thing to do, and I think you know that as well as I do.'

She nodded faintly. Galinda suddenly flung her arms around her friend in a hug. 'Oh, Elphie, why didn't you just _tell _us!' she wailed. 'Fifi is right – we would have _helped _you! Now I feel so awfulified because I didn't notice how horrendible you were really feeling!'

'Awful,' Cohvu corrected her, while at the same time Fiyero said absently, 'Horrible.'

They all looked at each other.

Then they burst out laughing.

* * *

They were on their way back to Aurya when it happened.

It happened so quickly they barely had time to react. They were swimming and talking, Fiyero still with his arm around Elphaba's waist protectively, Galinda chattering away about everything and nothing; and the next moment, something that looked like an arrow came flying their way.

Galinda was the first to notice it, and only the fact that she shrieked, 'Look out!' saved Elphaba from a death sentence. Her head whipped around, her eyes widened, and she flung herself out of the way, pulling Fiyero with her. The arrow hit a wall of one of the nearby buildings, and they all stared at it for a moment.

'Everyone okay?' Cohvu asked hoarsely.

Galinda nodded a bit shakily, and Elphaba's voice was trembling as well as she said, 'Yeah. Yero?'

'Fine.' He looked around. 'What in Oz was that?' he demanded in a slightly higher voice than usual.

'Looks like an arrow,' Cohvu said drily. The Vinkun prince glared at him.

'Yes, Cohvu. I have eyes, too.'

'There.' Elphaba had lowered her voice to a whisper. She pointed. 'Around that corner. I saw something moving there.'

They all looked at the corner. Nothing happened for a while, and Elphaba slowly swam up. 'Stay back,' she ordered her friends, then swam over to the roof of the building, peering over the edge. Her eyes narrowed when she located the merman below her, who was carrying a bow. It didn't look like a regular bow to her, but then again, she wasn't surprised at that – she figured that the merpeople had their own kinds of weapons.

She gritted her teeth and opened her magic book, quietly flipping through it. When she found a useful spell, she chanted softly under her breath. Suddenly, a cage appeared around the merman.

He let out a cry of surprise and Elphaba focused again, this time on the magic Aurya had taught her how to use. A flash of it shot out of her fingers and hit the bow, flinging it away from the man. Only then did she swim down to take a closer look at him.

The man let out a mirthless laugh when he saw her. 'So the princess knows how to use her powers, too. Yet another tiny detail that old fish failed to mention,' he grunted. 'I swear, I'm never going to do a job for her ever again.'

Galinda, Fiyero and Cohvu approached them as well now, looking slightly apprehensive, but curious. 'Did _you _do that?' Fiyero asked in awe, and Elphaba shrugged modestly. 'I had a spell book.'

Cohvu narrowed his eyes at the merman. 'Who are you?'

The man bowed – for as much as that was possible whilst trapped in a cage. 'My name does not matter,' he said. 'But I'm an assassin. Morrible sent me to murder the Crown Princess.'

Fiyero made a choked sound. Elphaba squeezed his hand reassuringly.

'Of course she didn't mention that you had friends with you,' the assassin said sarcastically, 'or that you already found out about your magic powers, or that you would have a spell book with you. As usual. Just because she's the Queen now, she thinks she can do anything –'

'What are we going to do with him?' Cohvu interrupted, looking at Elphaba.

The green girl held up her hands. 'How should I know?'

'Deliver him at the police station?' Galinda suggested.

Cohvu shook his head. 'I don't think it works like that, Glin. This man works for Morrible, and she's the Queen. She controls everything. He'll be free again in no time.'

'I think I know something.' Elphaba started flipping through the pages of the magic book again, searching for a particular spell. When she found it, she started chanting, and her friends watched in awe as the assassin transformed into a fish before their very eyes.

'What did you _do_?!' the fish demanded.

Galinda giggled. 'You can change people into _fish _with that book? That is _so _cool!'

Elphaba shut the book. 'At least this way he can't hurt anyone anymore,' she said simply, and Cohvu looked at her admiringly. 'That's actually pretty clever.'

The assassin was now small enough to fit through the bars of the cage Elphaba had put him in, and he quickly swam out. 'You can't do this!'

'Yes, I can,' said Elphaba.

'I'm just doing what Morrible told me to!' the fish wailed. 'Come on, Your Highness – I won't try and kill you again. Promise. Just change me back!'

'Ask Morrible.'

'She'll never do that! I failed at my job – it's more likely that she'll murder me than that she'll change me back!'

'Then I guess you're stuck like this.' Elphaba turned her back on him. 'Come on, guys,' she said, suddenly feeling tired. 'Let's go.'


	29. Chapter 29 Let Me Be Your Ruler

**AN: Um... hi. *crickets chirp* Yeah... sorry for the long wait. *more crickets* Anyone still there?**

**Anyway, I'm back now... we're getting to the actual chapters, the ones I like, instead of the fillers, so I hope to be updating more in the near future, but my original story is just eating away a lot of my time right now, along with uni. Uni is crazy at the moment.**

**Woodland59: No, that's not strange. It's kind of stupid, because I didn't really intend for it to happen, but somehow, similarities sneaked in :3. ****(Did you see that, Musicgal3? I just said 'sneaked', not 'snuck'. Aren't you proud of me?) **

**Glinda of Canada: I totally agree with that law.**

**Anyway, I have a reputation to uphold, so you're not going to like this chapter because it ends with a cliffy. But I'll try to update soon again.**

* * *

**Chapter 29. Let me be your ruler**

One afternoon Aurya came home more excited than the green girl had ever seen her. 'Elphaba!'

The younger mermaid looked up, slightly dazed. She'd been studying her magic all day long, as she had been doing for the past week or so. She was still determined to bring Morrible down, but she recognised now that she needed to learn more about her magic and make sure she could control it better before she would be able to do so.

Fiyero, Cohvu and Galinda had temporarily returned to Adurin Iir. They had been hesitant to go, especially Fiyero; but Aurya had explained that it wasn't healthy for humans to stay under the water for too long, and that it would be best for them if they would go back for a while. Elphaba had assured them that she would be alright, and she had pointed out that Lori and Hamold would also want to know about everything that had happened.

'Besides,' she'd said, 'it's not as if I'll be completely alone. I have Aurya.'

'You won't do anything rash, will you?' Cohvu asked a bit worriedly, and Elphaba had promised him she wouldn't.

'I have no idea how long this will take,' she had admitted, 'but I'll make sure to keep you updated. If anything happens, anything at all, I'll find a way to let you know.'

Finally, they had all reluctantly agreed, and Aurya and Elphaba had accompanied them back to the beach near Adurin Iir. That had been about a week ago. With nothing else to do, Elphaba had thrown herself onto her magic then, determined to master every bit of it she could master.

Now, she was blinking at her aunt. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' Aurya assured her cheerfully. 'Nothing is wrong. On the contrary. Elphaba… the people are standing up to Morrible.'

Elphaba's eyes widened. 'The people… _what_?' she asked, baffled.

Aurya laughed. 'They're standing up to her,' she repeated. 'They want her gone. They want you to be their ruler, Elphaba. They want you to take over. But in order to do that, we're going to have to do something about Morrible first.'

Elphaba nodded slowly, her mind reeling. 'Alright.'

'Do you think you're ready?'

Elphaba hesitated, then nodded again. 'I guess,' she said. 'I mean… I don't think I'll ever be completely ready, but I _feel _ready. I know so much more about my magic now. I still have trouble controlling it, but my spells have certainly improved… I guess I could take her.'

Aurya smiled at her encouragingly. 'I know you can do it, Elphaba,' she said. 'And perhaps there won't even have to be any magic involved.'

Elphaba looked up again, surprised.

'If the people choose you,' Aurya continued, 'and refuse to accept Morrible as their leader any longer, then _you _will have all the power. You could have her thrown in jail. You could banish her. Anything you'd like. You'd be the Queen, after all.'

The mere thought made Elphaba dizzy. She gaped at Aurya for a few moments, blinking. 'You know?' she said finally. 'If I had known all this when I was still an oblivious teenage _human _girl, living at Adurin Iir, I don't think I would have done this.' As she was saying it, she realised that it was true. 'If I had known that this was what would happen if I went to look for the truth about my past, I think I would have been fine living my life not knowing.'

'But you _do _know now,' Aurya pointed out quietly, and Elphaba sighed and nodded.

'I do,' she admitted. 'And now that I do, I can't turn my back on it. It's just… this is _so _not what I ever expected to find.'

Aurya smiled and patted her niece's arm. 'I know,' she said. 'But it's very brave of you that you're doing this nonetheless.'

She cocked her head a little to the side. 'Want me to go and fetch Fiyero and your friends?' she asked knowingly, and Elphaba laughed.

'You read my mind,' she said. 'I mean… I'd prefer to do this without them, and not put them in any danger, but, well… they'd kill me.'

Aurya grinned. 'True. Alright, I'll go get them, and you go over those spells once more, just to be sure, okay?'

Elphaba nodded and watched her aunt leave. Her heart was pounding in her chest by now. This was it. It would happen today. Either she would defeat Morrible… or Morrible would defeat her.

She was ready.

* * *

She had to laugh at Fiyero's greeting when he saw her. He pretty much launched himself at her, sending them both flying backwards a little, as he caught her around the waist and hugged her tightly. 'I missed you.'

She smiled and kissed him. 'I missed you, too.'

'ELPHIE!' Galinda was next, of course, tackling her friend in a bear hug, after which Cohvu basically attacked the green girl as well. The four of them ended up in a heap on the ocean floor.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. 'It's been a week,' she pointed out. 'What would happen if I were to be apart from you for longer than that?'

'We'd have to scrape Fiyero off the floor,' Galinda giggled.

Cohvu snickered. 'True,' he agreed. 'Seriously, he's the example of 'heartache' when you're not there.'

Elphaba looked at the prince, suddenly no longer smiling. That wasn't true… was it?

As if reading her mind, Fiyero slipped his fingers into hers and squeezed her hand softly. 'Well, you're here now, aren't you?' he said, trying to make light of the situation, but Elphaba just bit her lip and didn't say anything else.

They set out for the underwater palace not long thereafter, and the rest of the day passed in a blur for Elphaba. She was met with several high officials, who all asked her questions in order to try and confirm that she really was their lost princess – even though anyone who had known Melena could see that Elphaba must be her daughter, for they looked so much alike. She had to give a speech to her people and she was informed that Morrible had retreated to a place outside the kingdom, at which Elphaba declared the old hag banished from the kingdom forever. If anyone caught sight of her, they were to report her immediately, and she would be thrown in jail.

It was a long day, yet it was also slightly unrealistic; and apparently, Elphaba wasn't the only one feeling that way.

'I can't help but feel like this was kind of an anticlimax,' Cohvu complained when they were having dinner in the palace that night. 'I can't help it – I'm just waiting for the shoe to drop.'

Galinda furrowed her brow in confusion. 'No-one here wears shoes,' she said, puzzled.

Cohvu just laughed and kissed her cheek. 'You're adorable.'

'You're right,' Elphaba said, steering the conversation back to the original topic. 'I feel the same way. It's just… I feel like it's been too easy, you know?'

'Things don't always have to be difficult,' Aurya reminded her. 'Like I said, Elphaba, you're the rightful ruler. People here don't only accept you; they respect you. They know your story now, which makes them hate Morrible even more. They believe you. They listen to you. The fact that I'm sitting here, in the royal palace, without being dragged off to prison, proves that more than anything.'

Elphaba smiled at her. 'Well, I'm glad I could finally clear your name,' she said honestly. 'After all these years…'

Aurya shrugged. 'The time wasn't right,' she said. 'Not until now. Only now were you ready to take your rightful place and do everything you've done today.'

'Perhaps _that _is what bothers us,' Cohvu spoke up thoughtfully. 'I mean… it's been a day. _One _day. Like I said – it feels like an anticlimax.'

'But then again,' said Elphaba, 'perhaps we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.'

'And it hasn't been just one day,' Aurya reminded the others. 'We've been working on this for months now. Ever since Elphaba discovered her true nature.'

'Has it really only been a couple of months?' the green girl asked, stunned. 'It feels like a lifetime.'

The others agreed.

'So what's the plan now?' Galinda asked. 'Princess Elphie,' she added, before bursting out in a fit of giggles. 'This is so swankified!' she declared. 'Princess Elphie!' She grimaced. 'You're not going to make us call you 'Your Highness', are you?'

Elphaba rolled her eyes and laughed. 'Of course not, silly.'

Galinda started dancing around the room. 'Prince Fifi and Princess Elphie!'

Elphaba buried her face in her arms. Fiyero smacked his forehead.

'Seriously, though,' Aurya said when Galinda had taken her seat again. 'What _are _you going to do, Elphaba?'

She thought about that for a moment. 'I think I should stay here for some more time,' she said. 'To make sure everything goes the way it's supposed to go, to get to know my people and allow them to get to know me. And to make sure Morrible doesn't come back.'

'I think that's a wise decision,' Aurya agreed.

Galinda elbowed Cohvu in the stomach. 'Do you hear that? She already sounds like a real Queen!' she squealed. 'Elphie, can't I be your head advisor, or something like that?'

Everyone sitting around the table laughed at that. 'Yeah, sure, Glin,' Elphaba said, amused. 'And what would you advise me? To paint the kingdom pink? To forbid everyone from wearing unfashionable fishtails?'

Galinda squealed again. 'Elphie, that's an amazifying idea!'

Elphaba sniggered. 'I was joking, Glin.'

The blonde's face fell. Cohvu grinned, but put his arm around her shoulders. 'It's okay, honey. We'll find something for you to paint pink,' he promised.

'So you're staying here for now,' Fiyero concluded, and Elphaba nodded, squeezing his hand.

'You're all welcome to stay, too,' Aurya offered. 'The palace is big enough, and it shouldn't take too long, should it, Elphaba?'

The younger mermaid didn't really reply, only nodded vaguely, which merely added to the uncomfortable feeling Fiyero had had ever since they had been reunited. There was something about her behaviour that he didn't like. As if she knew something that he didn't.

Over the course of the next week or so, Elphaba continued to try and get the government back on track, participating in endless meeting with advisors and high officials and trying to get everything working again the way it should. She worked hard to prove to the people that she could be trusted and would do the right thing for them – not just by fulfilling her duties as the Crown Princess, but also by going out into the streets to meet the merpeople face-to-face, getting to know them.

Fiyero was immensely proud of her, and he could tell that the others were, too; but the closer Elphaba became to Aurya and the other merpeople, the further she seemed to drift away from her friends, and Fiyero was not the only one noticing that. When Elphaba came up to them one day and completely out of the blue told them that they would have to leave the next day, Galinda bristled.

'Elphie,' she said sternly. 'What in Oz is going on?'

'What do you mean, what is going on?' Elphaba said irritably. 'Nothing is going on. You just need to go home. You remember what Aurya said last time – it's not healthy for humans to stay under the water for this long.'

Galinda was already shaking her head. 'That's not what I'm talking about and you know it,' she said. 'You've been distant and moodified lately. You barely ever talk to us anymore. You were always closed and you never talked about your problems much, but now it's just starting to get ridiculous. You're shutting us out and I don't like it.'

Elphaba sighed and gave in, sinking down onto a bench. 'Fine,' she complied. 'What do you want me to say?'

Cohvu sat down next to her. 'How are you feeling, for one?' he asked her.

She bit her lip. 'I'm okay,' she said finally. 'I mean… it's still confusing and a bit terrifying – I have no idea what to do, and it's kind of scary to know that every decision you make might have consequences for an entire kingdom… but I'm learning. I'll be fine. Besides, Aurya is helping me.'

Cohvu nodded. Galinda perched in his lap, looking at her friend seriously. 'And why do you want us to go home?'

Elphaba sighed. 'I just don't like the thought of you getting hurt,' she said softly. 'Morrible might still try and come back – in fact, I'm convinced that she will. She doesn't seem like the type to give up this easily. And if she does… I don't want to drag you guys into it.' She looked at Fiyero. 'That already happened one time too often.'

He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. 'Fae,' he said. 'I'm still here. I know you were scared – I was, too – but it ended well, didn't it?'

'It did,' she acknowledged. 'But it might not next time.'

He sighed.

Cohvu peered at the green girl, his eyes narrowed. 'There's still something you're not saying,' he said accusingly.

Elphaba closed her eyes. 'Can we do this some other time?' she asked. 'Please?'

'What other time?' Cohvu demanded. 'You're trying to send us back to shore tomorrow!'

'But… you're coming with us,' Galinda said in a small voice. 'Aren't you?'

Elphaba averted her gaze.

'Elphie?'

Fiyero gently placed his hands on the young mermaid's shoulders, massaging them lightly. 'Guys, just leave her be,' he told the others. 'There's still plenty of time for us to talk when we get back to Adurin Iir. Isn't there?'

Cohvu and Galinda just looked at him. Elphaba swam a few metres away from them, knowing that she had to tell them now.

She turned around to look at them, wrapping her arms around her waist. 'No,' she said softly. 'There isn't.'

Galinda squeaked softly and buried her face in Cohvu's shoulder. Cohvu stared at his green friend.

Fiyero swam forward, too, to take her hands in his again. 'Fae,' he said. 'Of course there's time. I understand that you still have things to take care of here, but we'll be waiting for you. It'll be fine, really.'

She shook her head slowly. 'You don't understand,' she said.

He looked at her, confused.

'Yero…' She pulled away her hands, lowering her gaze. 'I'm not coming back with you.'

He stared at her. He knew what she was most likely saying, yet he decided to play dumb, purely because he didn't want to believe it. 'You mean you want to spend some more one-on-one time with your aunt, and get to know the merpeople?' he asked. 'That's fine, of course – you could just come back later, and…'

'Fiyero.'

He faltered and looked up. Now she did meet his gaze, and the fact that her doe-like eyes were filled with sadness, didn't do much to reassure him. 'Yes?' he croaked.

She shook her head. 'I'm not coming back, Yero,' she said softly. 'At all.'


	30. Chapter 30 How Much I Need You

**AN: I'm glad you're all still with me, and I'm glad you're all upset. You're supposed to be :D. And trust me, it's going to get a LOT worse in the upcoming chapters. Man, it's good to be back. Queen of Cliffies back on her feet!**

**Again, kudos to Musicgal for once again naming my own favourite lines in the previous chapter, which happened to be _her _favourite lines as well. Surprise there. GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU CREEPY LONG-LOST AUSTRALIAN TWIN! :)**

**I just noticed - guys, all of you, there's a _lot _of capital letters in your reviews. Heheh. Oh, yes, you're upset. This chappy won't make it much better, I can assure you that.**

**Let's see, was there anything else... oh, yes. EIGHT DAYS. ONLY EIGHT MORE DAYS AND I'LL BE IN LONDON. NINE MORE DAYS AND I WILL HAVE SEEN WICKED FOR THE SIXTH TIME AND WILLEMIJN FOR THE FOURTH TIME. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH.**

**Anyway, some Fiyeraba fluff for you before I crush your hearts ^_^.**

* * *

**Chapter 30. How much I need you**

It felt like she had struck him across the face.

Beside them, Galinda gasped. 'Elphie, what are you saying?' she demanded in a high voice. 'You can't just leave us! We grew up together! We're your friends, your family!'

Elphaba closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again to look at the blonde. 'I know,' she said simply. 'You are. But Glin…' She gestured around her. 'These are my people,' she tried to explain. 'They need me.'

'_I _need you,' Fiyero whispered brokenly, and she laid her hand against his cheek for a moment. 'That's not true,' she said softly. 'You can go on without me, Yero. You all can. But you have to understand that I have to stay here. This is my home.'

'Is that really how you feel?' Fiyero asked in a strangled voice that didn't sound like his own at all. 'That you're at home here?'

She was silent for a moment. The truth was, she still wasn't sure about what and where 'home' was, exactly… but as the heir to the throne, the Crown Princess of the merpeople, wasn't this her duty? To stay and take care of them?

Not trusting her voice, she nodded mutely, and Fiyero turned away from her.

'Why?' Cohvu asked her quietly. 'El… if this is about Morrible…'

'That's part of it,' she admitted, and he nodded.

'You can try to defeat her and come back then,' he offered, his voice still low. 'We'll wait for you. We understand you have to do that… but that doesn't mean you have to stay here.'

'Yes, it does,' she said simply, and he sighed and his shoulders slumped.

'Alright.' He looked at her. 'If that's the way you feel, then we won't stop you. And perhaps you're right,' he conceded. 'You were born here, after all. You _are _a mermaid. Perhaps this really is where you belong.'

She wasn't sure why that only made her feel more awful, instead of relieved, about her decision.

Galinda's lower lip was trembling and she seemed to be on the verge of tears. 'Elphie, you can't leave!' she pleaded almost desperately. She grabbed Elphaba's hand. 'We're best friends, all four of us! We were supposed to go to Shiz after the summer! Together! Cohvu and Fiyero were supposed to be roommates, and you and me, and we were going to have an amazing time… we would go on double-dates together, and you would scold me for not paying attention in class, and I would yell at you because your dress would clash with your shoes, and we would go shopping and I would give you makeovers and we'd all be _happy_!'

Now she really was crying, and Elphaba wrapped her arms around her friend in a hug. 'This isn't the end of our friendship, Glin,' she whispered in the blonde's ear. She pulled away a little to look at her. 'You're right,' she admitted, 'in that I won't come to Shiz with you in the fall anymore. I can't. But I can still change myself into a human – I could come and visit you! It wouldn't be like you'd never see me again!'

'But you wouldn't be _with _us!' Galinda protested. 'It's not the same, Elphie!'

'No, it's not.' Elphaba looked into her best friend's eyes. 'But it's necessary.'

Fiyero's voice still sounded unusually choked when he said, 'The Vinkun people wouldn't accept their princess living anywhere else than with the royal family.'

It took a while for her to realise what he was saying, and when she did, her heart broke and her throat clogged with unshed tears. 'Oh, Yero…'

'I wanted… I wanted to marry you,' he croaked. 'I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you, Fae. Isn't that enough?'

She swam up to him and cradled his face in both her hands. 'It's more than enough,' she told him, her voice breaking. 'And I love you too. But Yero, that doesn't change the fact that you belong up there… and I belong down here.'

He shook his head violently. 'Then I'll stay here with you,' he declared hotly, proving to her just how deep his love for her went, and cracking her heart even more.

'You can't,' she said softly, regret in her eyes. 'Magic can't keep you breathing under the water forever, Yero.'

A sob rippled through him, and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close and whispering soothing words in his ear to try and comfort him. He clung to her, crying his heart out into her neck, and a few stray tears made their way down her own cheeks as well. She didn't want to leave him, she really didn't, but what choice did she have? This was the place where she was born. This was the place where she belonged, whether she liked it or not, and so she had to stay. To fulfil her duty and take care of her people.

* * *

When she told Lori and Hamold about her decision, they were sad, but at least they understood; which was something she couldn't say about Fiyero.

After telling her friends about her decision, she had informed Aurya, who had been delighted. However, she also understood it must be hard for both Elphaba and her friends and family. She was the one who had suggested this trip.

'If you're really sure about this,' she'd said to her niece, 'then it's only fair if you go back with them to say goodbye. You should tell Hamold and Lori in person, and this way, you get to spend some more time with Cohvu, Galinda and Fiyero. That'll give them a chance to get used to the idea. Don't worry, we can manage without you for a few days.'

And so here she was. Back at Adurin Iir. And it wasn't half as easy as she'd hoped it would be.

Lori and Hamold were actually the least of her problems. She'd had a long talk with them, and they had told her how much they'd miss her – she'd grown to be like a daughter to them and they were incredibly sad to see her go, but at the same time, they were happy that she had found her family and the place where she belonged. They'd told her they loved her and they wished her the best.

Seeing Cohvu was worse. He'd assured her that he understood her decision and that he was happy for her, but it was clear that he wasn't himself at all. He was moody and sombre, he snapped at everyone for no reason, and he refused to talk about any of it.

Then there was Galinda, who would burst into tears every time she laid eyes on her best friend, wailing that she couldn't miss her and if Elphaba would please, please, _please _just stay here.

And then there was Fiyero.

Fiyero, who, more so than everyone else combined, was the reason that she was out here on the beach right now, on her very last day ashore, all by herself; because she couldn't stand being around him for much longer. She just couldn't look at him without feeling like a horrendible person. He was sporting a beaten puppy look that broke her heart every time she saw it.

She knew this must be hard for him. It was hard for her, too. But this was the right decision for her to make. She couldn't put her own happiness before the happiness of her people. She had to take care of them; that was her responsibility, and that was the most important thing. Even more important than her love for Fiyero.

She stared across the ocean, not even noticing the turtle until it was already at her feet. She smiled upon seeing it, recognising it by the dark patch on its shield. 'Hey, turtle. Long time no see.' She sighed deeply. 'You've missed a lot.'

The animal seemed to be listening to her, and suddenly, she started wondering if perhaps it really _did _understand what she was saying. She was a creature of the sea as well, after all. At least partly. Could she communicate with sea animals, too? Was that an aspect of her mermaid powers she hadn't discoverated yet?

She shook her head, irritated with herself. Now she was getting paranoid as well. Great.

She wasn't sure for how long she stayed out there before someone joined her. She didn't even need to look up to know that it was Fiyero.

She tossed a pebble out into the sea. 'Please don't look at me like that.'

He sat down in the sand next to her. 'Like what?'

She looked away. 'Like I've done something awful to you.'

He didn't say anything. Now she did look at him. 'That's how you see it, isn't it?' she asked quietly. 'Like I've done something awful to you. And I _am_. Doing something awful to you, I mean. But I'm not doing it to hurt you, Yero, you know that.'

He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. 'Elphaba…'

She cringed. Him calling her by her full name, she had learnt, was never a good sign.

'Look,' she said before he could say anything else. 'I know you hate this. I do, too. But you're not the only factor here, Yero. I can't just turn my back on my people –'

'Can't someone else take care of your people?'

She stared at him. 'Fiyero,' she said. 'You're a Crown Prince. You should understand this better than anyone. If you had to choose between your people and me –'

Again, he cut her off. 'I'd choose you a hundred times over.'

'This is about their _safety_, Fiyero!' She rose to her feet and started pacing. 'I have to take care of them, keep them safe from Morrible! What if she tries something again?'

He got up as well. 'Then stay until you manage to defeat Morrible and come back afterwards! Or even better, let someone _else _take care of Morrible! All merpeople have magic, don't they? Just find some strong ones and teach them how to take out Morrible, and –'

'They're my people,' she insisted. 'They're my responsibility.'

He sighed and sank back down onto the sand. 'I wish I could say I didn't understand why you're doing this,' he said miserably. 'But the thing is… I do. I mean… I'm not sure if I would do the same in your position,' he confessed. 'But I know you, and I know that you could never leave a person that needs your help, let alone an entire kingdom. Not even for me.'

She softened and sat down beside him, curling her toes in the sand. She slipped her fingers into his. 'I'm sorry,' she told him. 'I really am.'

He offered her a weak smile. 'I know.'

She lay her head on his shoulder. 'I love you, Yero.'

'I love you, too,' he whispered, kissing her hair.

They moved so that she was sitting between his legs, her back leaning against his chest, his arms around her and their fingers still entwined. They watched as the turtle made its way back into the sea. They watched the sea gulls circling above the water, trying to catch some fish. They watched the sun slowly setting in the western sky. They sat like that for a long time, trying to pretend that everything was normal, that it was just another day of their old life together.

But it wasn't, and they both knew it.

After a while, when the sky in the west coloured gold and pink and orange, Fiyero spoke up. 'What's going to happen to us now?'

She looked back at him with large, sad eyes, turning around in his arms so that she could cup his cheek with one hand. 'Nothing, Yero,' she whispered. 'We can't be together.'

He closed his eyes for a moment. Deep down, he'd known this already, but he hadn't wanted to believe it. He still didn't. 'You're not coming back.'

She shook her head.

'At all.'

She bit her lip. 'No.'

'Why?' His voice was choked. 'Can't we just… figure something out? I mean… I could visit you every now and then, couldn't I? And you could visit me… It'd be like… a long-distance thing?'

She was already shaking her head. 'Yero…' She sighed. 'I'm going to be Queen soon,' she said quietly. 'You're going to be King. You said so yourself – your people wouldn't accept a Queen that doesn't live with –'

'I don't care about the people!' said Fiyero unhappily. 'I care about _you_!'

She caressed his cheek with her thumb. 'I care about you, too,' she whispered. 'But it's not possible. It can't be, Yero. I'm sorry. I love you, and what we have is wonderful, but… but we have to end it here.'

It took him all of his willpower not to burst into tears right then and there. He studied her. 'You…' He cleared his throat in an attempt to make his voice sound less pathetic. 'You told Galinda you'd visit.'

She averted her eyes.

'You're not going to,' he croaked. 'Are you?'

She hesitated, then shook her head. 'No,' she whispered. 'Yero, I… I can't. I can't live two lives. I can't come back here to hear about your stories at Shiz, to have Cohvu looking at me with those sad eyes and to have Galinda crying over me all the time. It'd be too painful. For all of us.'

'You can't see _me_ again.' It wasn't a question; merely a statement.

She blinked rapidly in an attempt to prevent those stupid tears from falling. 'I can't, Yero,' she whispered, her voice breaking. 'It'd hurt too much.'

'Please stay.'

She shook her head. 'You can't ask that of me.'

He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder and looking over it at the ocean sparkling behind her. 'What do you want me to do, then, Elphaba?'

She pulled away to look at him, cradling his face in her hands and wiping away his tears with her thumbs. 'I want you to move on,' she told him. 'I want you to start dating again. I want you to find a nice girl and marry her one day, make her your Queen. I want you to be happy.'

'I could never be happy without you,' he said stubbornly.

She kissed him. 'Yes, you can be,' she said. 'And you will be.'

He looked at her, then kissed her, using the kiss to tell her everything he couldn't say with words. She wound her arms around his neck and he pushed her back, so that she was lying on her back in the sand and he was positioned above her. He kissed her until they were both breathless and gasping for air, and the moment they'd caught their breath, he kissed her again. He couldn't let her go. Not now. Not ever.

'Yero,' she gasped between kisses. 'I have… have to go…'

'No,' he grunted, pinning her arms down next to her head. 'You're not going anywhere.'

She looked up at him imploringly. 'Yero…'

He was breathing hard. He tried to avoid her gaze, because he knew that he could never stand that pleading look in her eyes; but then her eyes caught his and he was lost.

'Please don't make this any harder than it already is,' she whispered.

He looked at her. He studied her every feature – her ebony hair, her thin, dark eyebrows, her long eyelashes, her beautiful, sparkling eyes, her straight nose, her lips, her chin, her neck. He traced her features with his index finger, willing himself to remember her like this forever.

'Smile for me,' he whispered.

She furrowed her brow. 'What?'

'Please?' He twirled a strand of her hair around his fingers. 'I want to see you smile. I love your smile.'

That _would _have made her smile, normally; now, it just made her want to cry. 'Yero…'

He looked like a lost puppy again, and she looked into his sapphire blue eyes. She remembered him, all the time she'd spent with him – as his friend, as his girlfriend, as his favourite victim in his dancing-through-life stage. She remembered him as a young boy, and that memory _did _make her smile. How happy they'd been back then. How carefree…

He smiled, too, tracing one of her dimples with his fingers. 'I love those dimples,' he whispered.

She turned her head to kiss his finger. 'I remember.'

He let go of her, and she sat up, looking at him. 'I have to go, Yero.'

He started panicking. 'Now?' he protested. 'You can't go now! You haven't said goodbye to the others, and –'

'I said goodbye to them before I came out here,' she said.

He looked hurt. 'You didn't say goodbye to me,' he pointed out.

She smiled and kissed his cheek. 'That's because I knew you'd find me here,' she said softly. 'You always find me.'

He kissed her in reply.

She looked into his eyes one final time, memorising them. 'Goodbye, Yero,' she whispered, kissing him one last time – a long, searing kiss that took her breath away. Then she slowly pulled away from him and walked into the sea, the waves washing over her feet.

Fiyero watched her every move, still as a statue himself. 'Fae?' he croaked.

She looked over her shoulder.

'I love you,' he said.

She smiled, showing him her dimples one last time. 'I love you, too, Yero,' she said.

Then she disappeared under the ocean's waves.


End file.
